


AurORA

by ljkoon



Category: Real Person Fiction, Winner (Band), 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Crack, Cameos, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Humor, Iceland, Love Confessions, M/M, Sexual Tension, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-10-26 01:50:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20734274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ljkoon/pseuds/ljkoon
Summary: They wish to watch the aurora in Iceland. They were granted that wish. But by whom?Also, does that really matter?





	1. DAY 1

10 A.M, they arrive in Reykjavik. The staffs shuffle with their strollers and gears. Their manager is occupied with continuous phone calls. Just a few meters away, Na PD-nim is walking back and forth, distributing his files between the staffs. He stops to give them a white envelope. Assuming it's their mission card for the day, the boys holds on to it, patiently wait for the camera to start rolling. To their surprise, Hoseob quickly motions them to a black van where their luggage are already being loaded in the trunk.

Right after they entered the car, its door slides shut and Hoseob hops into another van driving by. They stares with wide eyes as their manager hyung smiles and wave cheerfully at them as he disappears out of sight. In their haze of disbelief, they turn around to see the driver is a foreign man who definitely does not speak Korean, judging by the way he was staring. There is no one in the front seat, there is no camera attached anywhere and two pairs of eyes are glued on them in an equally confused manner from the back seat.

One of them pulls down his mask - someone remotely familiar, he bows lightly and greets them:  
"Good morning! Mino sunbaenim, Jinu sunbaenim."  
The taller kid next to him tucks at his fluffy grey scarf and mouths the same, obviously incredibly flustered. Jinu quickly greets them back from behind Mino but everyone can tell by his wide eyes that he has no clue what's going on.

The car remains in awkward silence until the cool kid speaks up again: "I'm Wang Yibo, I trained in YG for a few years, we've met once or twice."  
"Yibo?!? You are one of those Chinese kids! From that group project with Yuehua, right?" - Jinu cheers. He nudges Mino: "We saw them around in dance practices, you know, before Win, this kid dances as well as our Hoony." This seems to resurfaces quite some memories in Mino, he throws his head back laughing and goes in for one of those cool B-Boy handshake:"How's it goin' man?"  
"All well" - Yibo smirks. Gestures to his right, he introduces: "This is my hyung, Xiao Zhan, he's a great idol and actor. He's so handsome, right? but the only Korean word he knows is Oh Sehun, so just leave the talking to me."  
No doubts this draws laughter from everyone but Xiao Zhan - "Wang Yibo!!?", he pinches Yibo on his thigh, which makes him laugh even harder.

Jinu reaches out first with a blinding smile and his foreign language skill he always pulls out of f*cking thin air: "Ni hao Xiao Zhan, I am Jinu!", then comes Mino with Google-translate English vocabulary: "Hi!! Hi!! Nice to meet you!"...

Xiao Zhan is slightly taken aback, only because these two are ridiculously friendly and hilarious. They might as well have been kidnapped but he feels much less agitated then he thought he would.  
"You know YG entertainment right?" - Yibo turns to him - "They are Mino gege and Jinu gege from WINNER of YG, you know, where I..."  
"Yibo, I know. There's no need to explain." - Xiao Zhan shuts him up as he feels like the kid is starting his rant about his 5-years-of-hardship-and-victor in Korea again.

"Are you guys about the same age? You two seems pretty close!" - Mino notices how there's literally no space left between the two, it looks like they've been hanging out with each other since both were in diapers.

Yibo glances over at his gege in a away which Xiao Zhan can tells he's about to talk shit again: "I haven't even been born when he enters first grade!" - Yibo dodges gege's hand from covering his mouth - "He's a 91'er but I don't find him old, not even a little bit!". Xiao Zhan tries to redraw his hand from Yibo's grasp and fails as the puppy is shooting heart-eyes at him again. He quickly diverse his gaze to whatever that's outside the window but the blush on his cheeks is giving it up.

"uhm... Wow! Turns out these two are the same age!" - Mino uses his surprised expression to cover up his and Jinu's giggles at the silly love birds. Pointing at Jinu, he tells Xiao Zhan: "Jinu is born 91, too." To make it clearer, Jinu gestures at himself and Xiao Zhan - "Same! Same!"  
"I'm born 93" - Mino continues, trying his best to clear up the awkward 'romantic-tension' from earlier, also saving Xiao Zhan from his own imploding bashfulness.

"So...how is it that you two are here?" - Mino asks, reminding everyone of 'the elephant in the room'.

Yibo promptly opens his e-mail, showing one from Harpers Bazaar China about a winter photo-shoot in Iceland: "We were promoting a drama together so... Anyway, when we arrived we were just told to wait in the car. Our staffs were all here but they just left."

Mino and Jinu exchanges looks, they seems to have generally got the idea behind it all - It's like "WINNER over flowers" all over again.  
"Don't worry. We thought we were here to film variety show either. I think we've got the answer right here." - Mino smiles warily at the little envelope, he shrugs and opens it. Inside are two notes with the same content, one in Chinese and one in Korean.

_"Children,_

_you have been fooled!_

_This has been a hoax of which only purpose is to give you kids a 6-day-vacation in Iceland to ski and enjoy watching the aurora to your hearts' content (before the ice are all melted). I have personally ensured that there will be no recording or media coverage in anyway, so, have fun!_

_Signed, Mr. X_

_P/s: It has been my honor to orchestrate this hoax with the help of your respective families, friends and colleagues, as well as your management agencies. Special thanks to Harpers Bazaar China, Na Young Seok PD-nim, and all of the staffs involved who are now boarding their EUROSTAR train to Greece."_

"Okay! You read the letter, we can go now!" - the driver dutifully steps on his pedal. Having accepted their fate, they sit back and fasten their seat belts.

"Mino, look what Yoonie just posted!" - Jinu passes his phone to Mino, he reads out loud: "[Dog emoji][Sun emoji][Cat emoji][Snow emoji]... They are in Hawaii?! They all know about this?! Hiong!" Facing Mino's exaggerated expression, Jinu can just laugh: "It looks like so Mino ya! kk, we are the only clueless ones."

"I think I just got a text either." - Yibo remarks as he felt his phone buzzed, he pulls out his phone and shows Xiao Zhan - "It's Wang Han laoshi."  
"What does he say?" - Xiao Zhan asks, just when his phone vibrates as well - "It's my mom... 'stay safe, have fun!'... what the hell is this?". Yibo sees his gege looking up at him, his brows furrows under the beanies, wide eyes full of questions and, probably anger, as he cussed. Yibo takes his gege's soft mitten-ed paw in his hand, smiles and reassures him: "Ge, I don't really know what's going on either but if Wang laoshi AND your mother are both in on this then I don't think we need to worry. Just have fun!"

"Looks like our families knows as well." - Yibo tells the other hyungs - "I feel like Mr.X could be someone we all know, don't you think so?"  
"Yeah! Actually I think so, too" - Jinu suddenly firms his voice - "I even have the feeling like it's someone we can trust!". He nudges Mino on his shoulder: "You know me! my gut feeling is always right!"

After four long hours of winding roads, stretches after stretches of snow-glittered mountain ranges and milky white plains, long naps and joke-filled chatting, they find themselves in a recluse ski resort. It's got that retro aesthetic - much to Mino's liking. The Bauhaus structural designs are reserved well even though the place looks like it has just been re-innovated - now dramatically draped in the 60's pop colors. Every corners, walls and windows convey a fresh, youthful vibe while staying cozy, neat and minimal. Mino takes out his camera in uncontrolled excitements, already picturing the thousands of shots he is going to take.

On their ride to the central building, Yibo notice something on top of a snowy slope - a shiny black Yamaha snowmobile babe, burning in bright neon green is calling to him, alluring him with her 1049cc triple 4-stroke engine. His eyes immediately lit up in response, the left corner of his mouth curls upward as he looks to his right. Xiao Zhan missed that smirk, his mind is out side the other window, where murals of pop-art and vintage patterns adorn the snow, but he's not wearing his glasses.

The car comes to a stop and Jinu hops right out: "The Feeling is Good! Let's hurry up!", followed by a smiley Mino.  
"Zhan gege, there's nothing to worry about, let's go!" Yibo yanks him by the arm and urges him out of the van. They enters through the revolving door just as Jinu reaches the front desk.  
"Helloo!" - Jinu asks the pretty receptionist - "In hotel, Wifi?"  
In front of her is a deadly combo of starry eyes and sunny smile. The lady can't help but suppresses her grins to maintain professionalism. She responses in fluent Korean: "Yes, we have super speed free wifi throughout the resort, we also have a cutting edge gaming area on the 3rd floor that you and your companions can enjoy."

While SongKim were busy looking back and forth with stunned expression, Xiao Zhan has managed to catch "super speed free wifi" and "gaming" in her sentence, he can tell that Wang Yibo is reaally liking it here by the shit-eating grin plastered on his face: "Real nice huh, Lao Wang. Congrats to you!". This kid is going to get him to play so he can get all cocky about it, for sure!  
Yibo can't takes his eyes off of gege's playful mocking grin, even when Xiao Zhan is swatting at him repeatedly. Of course he would get Xiao Zhan to play games with him, but he is going to let Zhan gege win... eventually.

The receptionist would very much like for the noisy love birds to have their own room so she interferes to pass them their key-cards, she speaks in Mandarin: "The check in procedures are done and your luggage has been delivered to your room. For now, please follow me to your suite."

Mino and Jinu are waving at them by the elevator, it seems like they will be staying next to each other.

Or to be exact, opposite from each other because there are exactly 2 suites on this floor.  
"There's a note on the door!"  
"There's one on our's, too"

_"Kids,_

_I'm sorry if you find the place unnecessarily expensive. To be honest, I'm just being loyal to the original architecture. However, electricity and water are both bio-sustainable, so don't worry too much about leaving carbon footprints and stuffs. Love ya!_

_Signed, Mr. X_

_P/s: I renewed the entire place but couldn't get the ghosts to leave, they just don't have anywhere to go. Don't freak out if the lights go out, I promise they are friendly!"_

Mino laughs nervously, he whispers in Jinu's ear: "This is so scary hiong! Should we sleep and shower together? Just to be safe." - The act gets Jinu to throw a scornful look his way. Jinu shoves Mino out of his way and steps into the suite first. Despite the violent act, Mino knows they are both smiling ear to ear.  
"Who does that?!"- Mino exclaims as he enters the suite - "Am I hallucinating or is that a giant oil painting of you on the wall, Jinu hiong?"  
Jinu follows his gaze and finds himself wondering the same: "I don't know, Mino. It kinda looks like me but it doesn't really look like me..."  
"Whoever painted this really gets your eyes. Those are your eyes for sure, no doubts, haha!"  
"Oh stop it Mino, it's a painting of a freakin' deer." - Jinu throws a pillow at him.  
"A very beautiful deer, just like you, hiong, kk"

"I'm thrilled about the eco-friendliness but do we just casually skips over the ghosts part?" - Yibo fans himself with the note, under 4 layers of clothes.  
"Don't worry about it, Lao Wang, you can always use this!" - Xiao Zhan finds a mega flashlight hanging on their door as he enters their suite, which he is now swinging tauntingly.

Mino peeps in as the others' door is wide open and he catches Yibo laying on the couch:  
"Hey kiddo! You wanna get something to eat?"  
"OK hyung, but stop calling me kid, I'm 22" - This! This is the cool kid Mino remembers. Mino shakes his head, he hasn't differ much. Or he has, but only in someone's presence.  
Mino's hints: "Kay, Yibo! Have you checked out the room service menu?"  
Yibo takes the binder from under the coffee table and flips through them, the Chinese food are natives to Chongqing and Luoyang, just as he expected. He smirks:  
"Does this gives you a clue on who this Mr. X is, hyung?"  
"No idea, dude. Though... all of them are stuffs we usually eat."

They were still busy playing detectives when Xiao Zhan came out of the laundry room. He quickly tosses a warm throw blanket on Yibo before climbing onto the couch next to him.  
"Zhan ge, do you want to share a bowl of Dandan noodles with me?"  
"Where are you gonna get those here? Are you shitting me again?! " - Xiao Zhan is ready to kick him. Yibo laughs as gege's cussing tickles his ears - "I'm not, they really have Dandan noodles, and Chilli chicken, Spicy Hotpot, it's all here!" - he hands gege the binder, staring lovingly at his beauty, he can't stop smiling - "Can't be as good like that you make but I'm sure it's fine."

Mino contemplates - so... this is what Hoony feels like when he's stuck between us...

The other half of his 'us' arrives to his rescue moments later:  
"Have you decided on what to eat yet?! I want kimchi pancake, and tangsuyuk, didn't you say they have that, Mino?" - Jinu looks up from his phone when he senses a couple of gazes fixed on him - who is wearing one hoodie, a pair of sweatpants and walking around in his slippers, bare footed.  
"You ain't cold?" - from their looks, Jinu reads. He replies to the unspoken question: "No. I'm fine!". He presents Xiao Zhan a bag of Korean fire noodle snack he brought from home: "One for you!"

Mino squints at Jinu, who's happily munching on his snack:  
"Hiong, I thought you said you won't eat snack any more!"  
"We are on hiatus!" - Jinu reasons, still munching away - "You know the saying: Treat-yo-self!"

"Ge, I thought you also said you won't eat these anymore?"  
"You heard him! Treat-yo-self!" - Xiao Zhan wheezes.

Mino and Yibo *speechless*

!  
!  
!  
_[BQYX CONFEDERATION group chat] snippet_  
_ X9-1: How's my dorky gege doing?_

_Uniq-II: Yb's score in romanticism is an absolute 0_   
_ Unig-IV: But he's a cutie_

_X9-5: Z-ge always say he had gfs but he's so clueless_   
_ L.XL: Hello everyone! ^w^_   
_ X9-6: @X9-5 more like female-friends 😜_   
_ Mr.X: They are such adorable disaster LMAO!_

_Mr.X: By the way, a snowstorm is coming so they are gonna have to stay in for a night. Any idea how to spice things up? 😉_   
_ [ni_tage]TZW: pm me_

_'TX-knows' has sent a gif._

_bb: May I ask what's my role in this?_   
_ ZwZ: I can't leave T-T_


	2. DAY 2

Their first night in Iceland was spent recovering from jet-lag. Each has their own method, though.

Xiao Zhan went to bed early, he drifted off when Yibo was still on his phone.

Meanwhile, Mino insisted that Jinu-hiong must accompany him for a night photo-shoot. Jinu brought his phone and air-pods along, he continued watching his drama following Mino around the building. Mino took photos of every little thing that, for him, 'sparks joy' : earthy floral floor tiles, bronze humming bird musicbox, a stained glass window that portrays Frida Kahlo with a glass of Margarita, the way Jinu wears his sneakers, a 3D miniature reconstruction of 'The Persistence of Memory', Jinu's lips reflected on a silver rose,... To Mino's plea, Jinu paused his drama for a free modeling gig.

Xiao Zhan wakes up in the morning thinking his didi was gaming all night, how else would he have fell asleep still holding his phone, looking mildly distressed. He wants to squish Yibo's baby cheeks so badly, but instead, he carefully removes Yibo's phone and plugs in its charger.

After a late, energetic breakfast, everybody is up and high for adventure.

That's if fumbling down a slippery slope, inches by inches, with discontinued screaming counts as adventure.

After an hour and a half of (un)successful slide-walking, Mino and Jinu has given up and switch to playing snow sleds. The sound of laughter and teasing-name-callings echo their side, even when they are just pushing and pulling each other around in the goofiest manner. They pose no different from toddlers in sandbox, their snow fights are sprinkled with short trips down hill by tumbling on top of each other.

On this side of the ski ground, Xiao Zhan is making impressive improvements with the help of ski-master Wang Yibo:

"Yibo! Yibo! Yibo! Don't let go! Absolutely don't let go!"

Xiao Zhan keeps mumbling even though, currently, Yibo has none of that intention. He's quite enjoying gege's panic grabbing, especially now that his hands are around gege's tiny waist:

"Ge, you are the best! You are the most perfect person I have ever seen!" - sweet words are blown into his ear, soft breezes that makes him shivers.

"Yibo!"

Yibo listens to his named being uttered in feeble resistance, pleasing, provoking... ultimately, Yibo is forever his mischievous self in Xiao Zhan gege's presence: 

"Gege, didi really really love you!" - with a peck on the other's blushing cheek, Yibo lets go.

"Yah! Wang Yibo!!!" - Xiao Zhan heart is beating '14000 rpm' (per Yibo's dictionary) if Yibo ever needed a description. On another note, 'roughly 120 horses' is probably also a great way to depicts how strongly he's feeling things right now. Specifically, things like 'Love', 'fear', 'embarrassment',... 'Anger'.

"It's alright, gege!" - Yibo resumes his position as he caught the other in his arms - "You have just managed to ski by yourself for 1 meter, hahaha!"

"Wang Yibo! Is being nice, for just a little bit, still impossible for you?!" - Xiao Zhan is smiling, differently. His usual smile warms people's hearts. This one, it chills people to their bones.

Yibo snorts like an idiot. He knows he'll screw up beyond repair if he tells Xiao Zhan that beginners don't usually start with a snowboard now, so he better play dumb and shut up.

_Camouflaged in grey and white, a mountainside penthouse blends perfectly into nature. Behind glass and lenses, quiet eyes are watching..._

Lunchtime! and they are dead tired. While Mino and Yibo return their gears, Jinu has to rush Xiao Zhan back inside the building, his nose and ears turn red in the freezing, howling wind but he can't help being an excited bunny amidst the falling snow.

"Leggo! Leggo!" - Jinu pulls him by the elbow - "Ah I want to eat ssundae and ssamgyeopsa!". He turns to tell Xiao Zhan: "...Korean BBQ?"

Xiao Zhan nods cheerfully, but his eyes suddenly widen..."Be careful!" - he yells as Jinu steps on a broken piece of ice. Fortunately, Xiao Zhan was able to catch him before his butt hit the ground.

"Ooh! Ahahahaha!" - Jinu was startled for one moment, then he is laughing at himself - "Xiexie ya Zhan Zhan!" - he quickly flexes his improving Chinese. Xiao Zhan is low key impressed. Jinu starts pulling on him again and he's surprisingly strong.

The snow stopped falling upon the picturesque landscape. In the soft light of setting sun, fresh snow looks fluffy, like icing sugar on a cheesecake. Xiao Zhan is curling up in an armchair by the window, fully captivated by the view. Yibo couldn't take a nap like he said he would, he's too occupied with admiring his Zhan gege. From the comfort of his pillow, the silhouette of gege's dazzling side profile is captured vividly; Yibo notices how soft golden light bounces off his pupil as he tilts his head, giving it the purest ethereal glow; or how his soft lips parts slightly around his thumb; or how the corner of his mouth curls up into the most attractive sign of amusement as his mind wonders the snowy landscape.

"Zhan ge, we have to go now." - Wang Yibo suddenly hops off the bed.

"Huh? Go where?" - Xiao Zhan snaps out of his fantasy, wildly confused. Yibo brings over gege's warm clothes after having hastily put on his own. Xiao Zhan feels his heart jumps out of his chest when Yibo gets down on one knee in front of him. Yibo looks up at him and says: "Please go outside with me right now."

"go out with me? go outside with me?" - Xiao Zhan repeats for a few times to make sure he hasn't misheard it.

"Yibo!"

"Just trust and follow me."

Xiao Zhan isn't quite sure about walking the snow with his beanie covering his eyes. He gulps and tries his best to follow Yibo's leading hand, step by step.

Where they stop, Yibo removes his beanie only to replaces it with a helmet. Before he can realizes what was happening, Xiao Zhan is already settled on the back seat of the snowmobile.

"Gege! Please ride with me!" - Yibo crosses his heart and holds three fingers in the air - "I'm serious, I will drive safely, I swear!".

In no way can Xiao Zhan say no to that puppy face: "Fine. If you even think about doing anything reckless I will choke you first before we both die."

Yibo grins stupidly at his gege's pout. He eases the others goggles into place, making sure he's warm and protected. He jumps into the front seat, flexing the coolest pose he can think of. He reaches behind for gege's hands and pulls him closer until those arms are around his waist, gege's front is flushed againts his back. The engine starts to rumbles like someone's heart.

"YOU OK BACK THERE?"

"YE... YIBO!"

The snowmobile parts the snow smoothly like hot knife through butter. Setting sun dyes them in it's golden scheme, glittering the mist shot up by Yibo's sharp glides. The mobile pierces through valleys of towering snow piles higher than they can reach. Nature's pristine beauty - pure and magnificent - flies by them like a dream. Xiao Zhan's grip around Yibo's waist only grows tighter, even when he has got used to the speed, and Yibo's heart doesn't beat nearly this fast when he's cornering at 180kph.

As the last rays of sunlight linger the skyline, their round trip reaches it's end. Yibo turns off the engine and removes his helmet, but he doesn't stand up. Yibo rests his hands on gege's knees, preventing him from leaving altogether.

Xiao Zhan removes his helmet himself, confused: "Yibo, thank you. The ride was really nice, I liked it a lot... but should we go back? It's getting dark and colder..."

The grip on his knees turns bruising before Yibo abruptly swings his leg around to sit face to face with him. Yibo's grasps land on his thighs again, this time a bit higher up.

"Ge! I've already said there's no need for 'thank you' between us." - His stare burned for a split second, but softens down to amber when he leans in. The space between them becomes insufferable. The heat rises and rises until it reaches ignition point. Their lips crash. Breaths and signs let out and swallowed. Their last crazy make out session in the make up room started just the same as they can recall. They try to make it more mellow this time - less frantic excitement and more discovery. Their hands still manages to make their way on to bare skin and into silky hair nonetheless. Cold fingers that make one shivers, bites on lips that make one moans in pain.

The last light dies, even the wind becomes muffled as they continues to live in their own world. Xiao Zhan fits snugly in Yibo's lap, his legs stradling the other. Yibo breaks their wet kiss and slides his lips up his ge's sharp jawline, with his breath ghosting over the gege's blushed ear, he whispers: "Ge, I found some condoms in the nightstand's drawer..."

Immediately, Xiao Zhan breaks away and makes the run - a 100ms sprint that could put Olympic runners in shame. Yibo sits deserted, frozen - inside out.

Xiao Zhan says he doesn't feel hungry, while Yibo insists that he'll eat after he's done skateboarding... This results in a scenario where the other couple look at each other like - _Guess this is our date night now..._

In their own dimly lit dining room, candle light ripples across the table, cascading to the ground, flooding the floral tiles in it's ardent. Outside their window, clouds has momentarily cleared up, unveiling a canvas of stars.

"I was so right!" - Mino abruptly exclaims.

"You are! But about what?" - Jinu is somewhat distracted. He has only ever seen this many stars twice. When he was still living in Imjado, sailing at night with his father and when he traveled to Australia with his precious members - both are such beautiful memories. He's thinking about how lucky he is to always be with the ones he love the most when star-studded sky is shimmering above them, and that makes him happy.

Mino can't tell if he's being extra-dramatic when he finds himself choking up a bit at the words he's about to say. He can tell, however, from what's in front of his eyes, that those words are undeniably true and worthy of the sweet pride rising in his chest:

"I was right when I said your eyes are like black-holes. All the stars of Seoul and I was sucked into them, and now all the stars in Iceland as well!"

Jinu laughs his ass off at his lover's corny remark, to the point where he wipes tears from laughing to hard with his long sleeves, and Mino can't help but laughs along. Honey-glazed sweet talk is rarely a part of their communication. Between them, action has always means so much more. Of course Mino was aware, but he feels like a little cheesiness can do no harm. More than everything, he'd love to see Jinu's laughs.

"Is is because what I said that time? Kk, how we don't really talk about our feelings to each other?" - Jinu giggles still, catching his breath - "Are you gonna cite everything you wrote about me right now? Make it a poem?"

"Hiooong! I poured out my heart and soul creating them. How could you say they are tacky??" - Mino puffs and pouts in phony protest. He retaliates, wiggling his brow: "Should I do it with a different concept? Something like 'let's hold hand and sleep'? Or 'let's mingle', 'let me do the comforting'?"

Jinu hides behind his oversize sleeves, replying with the lowest volume: "I wouldn't mind if you do."

Mino blushes and stutters, until Jinu reveals his taunting grin behind those sleeves. Mino has been played and played again by Jinu so many times before but is never willing to learn. Jinu sips his wine in vindication. Under the table, his feet are resting on Mino's calves.

Night at the pole seems to stretch infinitely. They had wine, salmon, desserts, more wine... The other love birds never showed up, they shrugs and take it upon themselves to be a little nosy.

"Tto. Tto. Tto." - The door receives three considerate knocks. Xiao Zhan springs up from where he was nesting on the couch, he thought... but denies it on his own - "Yibo's knock will never be this comical. Especially when there's a doorbell."

He opens the door to see a pair of misty hazel eyes looking up at him. Jinu is in his dinner attire - one oversize button up and a pair of skinny jeans. At night, the temperature drops to 5-6 Celsius. Even with in-wall-heaters, the hallways are, at most, only 10 degrees warmer. As someone who can withstand the cold well, Xiao Zhan is wearing his Cashmere sweater, he is suspicious if Jinu is really human.

Mino, with additional help, found Yibo rolling back on forth on his board. He watches as the kid continuously attempts kickflips and continuously fails.

"You wanna talk?"

...

"You wanna eat?"

...

Mino isn't surprised, he knows Yibo is the 'hard-head' kind. "Head back. Don't make him worry." - Mino tries to leave an advice.

Jinu seems a bit lost... "Ah...right!" - Jinu quickly nudges Xiao Zhan back inside and closes the door behind them. He has a box in his left hand that is wrapped in furoshiki. Setting it on the dinner table with both hands, with his thumbs and indexes, Jinu unties the knot, in slow motion.

Xiao Zhan isn't too eager to move from his seat, Jinu is exuding a rather weird aura...

An extra zoomed pair of chopsticks appears in front of his eyes - behind it - Jinu's 'parental' smile: "Premium Bento! Meoggo, meoggo." - Jinu keeps shaking the chopsticks in front of him until he takes it. Only now that it dawns on Xiao Zhan, and he's right - Jinu has had quite a lot of alcohol. In fact, Jinu has just finished his fourth bottle of wine that night.

In contrary to Xiao Zhan's following assumption, Jinu is not drunk. He's performing tactical distraction - an ease of access into one's mind, so he claimed. Xiao Zhan looks up from his grilled eggplant to encounter Jinu's innocent wondering eyes.

"Where's your boyfriend?" - Jinu's English is wonderful in the most unexpected times.

Xiao Zhan pours himself some green tea to hides his diffidence.

"Fight la?" - Jinu asks, already having the answer - "Fight is fine. Fight then grow." - he nods, feeling like he really needs to agree with himself on this. Xiao Zhan sinks in silence, Jinu prodded at the right spot. Xiao Zhan's piled up frustration is a bout to implode, he slams down the chopsticks, picks up his phone and punches in some texts: "HE CAN MAKE ME SO MAD!!!"

Reading the text and observing Xiao Zhan's 'I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-him-anymore' face, Jinu chuckles the way he does when he's got the plot of a drama all figured out at the cliff-hanger - the smug way.

"Xiao Zhan!" - Jinu's steely tone could make one recoils in fear if it wasn't so fleeting, soft smile was blooming on his face again as he hands the phone back. He taps on his phone: "When Mino always work and won't get home, I'm infuriated and will not talk to him. It is because I care."

Jinu remembers the long nights he drank alone, waiting for Mino to return from his studio. He was glad Mino quit drinking even though it meant he won't have a liquor-buddy anymore, but Mino started to work overnight, day after day, and he got tired. Mino'd return at dawn when Jinu was still asleep, welcomed by the light Jinu still left on for him, then lock himself up in his room for the rest of the day. Jinu had his own schedules and they barely saw each other for months...

Xiao Zhan feels his tension slowly eases away - he realizes he wasn't mad at Yibo, he was mad because Yibo was displaying his affection too freely. Yibo is the sweetest and the smartest lad but he's not giving enough shit about his future... like his gege does. Now, Xiao Zhan wonders if it's really that important...

"KKK..." - Jinu suddenly giggles, he can't leave his friend a moody bunny. He hums: "ayayayayayayaya just wanna kiss and make up..."

Xiao Zhan almost choke on his tea. He watches Jinu rocking side to side, urging him to sing along, grinning like a dork. Their silliness is so compatible, he couldn't help but laugh it out, singing, his heart feels a bit lighter.

"aww! Uljima!" - Jinu pokes him - "You want Yibo?" - he points to the door - "Go!" Without a second of hesitance, Xiao Zhan slams the door behind his back. Jinu does his happy, but sleepy, seal-claps. He lets himself out, stretches his back, yawning.

_"Alert! Black bunny has left the nest."_

_"Excellent! I knew White bunny is the best!"_

_"We stick to the plan?"_

_"Yup. Storm hits at 130, release White lion on my signal."_

_"Rogers! Standing by."_


	3. DAY 3

It's half past midnight, Jinu fell asleep watching his drama. Mino shuts down his laptop and stretches a bit. He heads down to the bar, not expecting that he will encounter Wang Yibo sitting alone - eyes glued to his phone, swiping mindlessly.

"Care for a beer?" - Mino sets down one in front of Yibo.

"Thanks, hyung." - He doesn't even flinch as he's gulping down most of the dark bitter liquid.

"Wow, easy there. Downing a whole bottle in one go won't make your problems go away!"

Yibo turns to look straight into Mino's eyes - "You love Jinu hyung" - Yibo throws out a plain statement.

Mino feels lucky he didn't choke on his ginger ale: "And you feel the same about your Zhan gege." - he smirks - "Dude, we look at them the same way, anyone can tell!"

"Maybe that's the problem." - Yibo huffs.

Yibo admits he has little experience in romantic relationship, that's why he's eager to learn. He used to force himself to read romantic novels, the BL kind. Despite copying 'all the moves in the book', somehow, he keeps going back to 'establishing territory' and 'asserting dominance', which doesn't get him anywhere. He has only one advantage to fall back to - age. He has made himself the perfectly cute little brother and won gege's affection. The dilemma is that it becomes so hard to go anywhere from there.

Fortunately, with time, his efforts paid off. From calling out gege's name all day, complimenting him non-stop,... to going out of his way to take care of gege, learning to eat gege's favorite food; to playing a little cold so gege realizes how important he is... Xiao Zhan finally calls Yibo the person he likes.

Yibo sighs, he wants it to be 'love', it's already 'love' for him.

Yibo even created clone accounts to stalk their Yi-Zhan fan-blogs, that's how he knows they are called 'Bo Qun Yi Xiao' - to win a smile - for Yibo to win a person named Xiao Zhan. He chuckles at the name - it sounds so much easier than it really is. He has won the smile, but not yet the person. Thanks to their supporters' brilliant observant and deduction, he got to notice gege's expressions he otherwise would miss - when gege is shy, when gege is jealous, when gege only wants to rely on him... He also got to see how many times he has missed gege's signals to keep their thing a secret.

Mino can see the young lad grows weary, he adds - "Hey! It'll work out. Maybe your Zhan gege is just having a hard time, you know, considering things." He wished someone had told him this when he went through a rough time with Jinu, he wants to be that person for Yibo right now.

Mino straight up thought Jinu was an angel at the first encounter, but couldn't put a name on his feelings, his dork-ass couldn't even tell Jinu had something for him back then, too. He's been pining over his Jinu hyung for years, finding himself always hankering for Jinu hyung's love and attention, not knowing he has fallen beyond the point of turning back. He had only got a glimp of the truth when his mind unconsciously wonders to Jinu looking for a muse. How could it not when Jinu's presence is his comfort, his home, the beginning of his joy and inspirations. He was so mad at himself for taking so damn long - long enough for Jinu to falters from his hope.

"Dude, don't lose heart." - Mino cheers Yibo up, one persistent dumb-ass to another. Without immense persistent and trust, he and Jinu wouldn't have made it.

"I'M NOT, I'm not going to... unless he tells me himself he doesn't want it."

"That's the spirit! Though, uhm..." - Mino clasps Yibo's shoulder as he recall the couple's shenanigans - "I think there's a tiny glitch in your method."

"What's wrong with my method?" - Yibo's head snaps up from the bar, his eyes ablaze. The aggression is strong but by Mino's interpretation, it's purely the flame of curiosity. Mino shuffles in his vocabulary: "You... are coming off a little too strong, I mean, what's the word that ticks your box? Ah, 'childish'!"

"WhaT?!" - Yibo reacts like Mino yanked him by the tail. 

Mino puts it down - "Dude, you've got to learn a bit about subtlety. Like, showers of praises and down-pours of adoration is awesome, but sometimes, not enough. Gotta go for a more indirect attack, you know what I'm sayin'?".

"...Subtlety?" - Yibo is intrigued.

"Like writing your truest, most intense feelings for him into songs."

Wang Yibo cringes at the idea. He's saying and doing enough wild things around gege, now he's gonna sing?! And confessing his undying love is one thing... he's reminded of rom-coms where guys brings roses and guitar to propose to their lovers in a circle of candles and balloons - it's perhaps not his style.

"You know my works, right? Some of my best works are songs I wrote for Jinu, or such that compliments his voice color, did you hear that part in 'Zoo'..." - Mino recalls bringing every of his complete works for Jinu to hear before anyone else, especially the ones inspired by Jinu himself. Jinu only tell him if he thought the song was good but Mino knows he has got the message through. They slowly got more intimate, building a language of looks and touches of their own.

"And hey, to be encouraging, when Jinu told me his thoughts, It. Felt. Really. Amazing! He said it on live radio, kinda. Tears were shed, dude!" - Mino sniffles as he reminisces the moment.

"...Jinu hyung tells you he's ready for sex on live radio?!" - Yibo has been drifting off with his fifth beer, or rather far a way into the future since Mino indulges in the images of his lover.

"...What? No. I mean yes, he also said that. But... but I thought you were having trouble confessing!" - Mino stutters in disbelief - kids these days! 

"Well" - Mino shrugs - "I guess subtlety can also help with that." He chuckles - "Hiong is also my muse for songs like 'Body' and 'Turn off the light', so... 'Cause you see, we share the same flat. There exists a lot of, uhm, sexual tension..." - with his drink in hand, he flees the scene.

Yibo recalls the lyrics and his stomach churns. He definitely does not need this much information.

From the crack under their bedroom door, colors were dancing - probably the TV. Yibo exhales and collapses on the sofa.

"Xiao Zhan! I'm sorry." - he mutters just loud enough, hoping that gege is still awake - "I should have given it more thoughts. I should have known what it means for you..., if you..."

Yibo wants to scream but he doesn't dare to make a sound, his face was buried in his hands when the entrance door snaps open. Before Xiao Zhan can say anything, Yibo is already on his feet, looking to lock gege up in between his arms: "Where did you go?"

"I should be asking you this! I waited for you... then I went out looking for you." - Xiao Zhan is squeezed so tightly his eyes are watering. Didi sounds like he was sulking all night - too cute for Xiao Zhan to get mad him.

"Are you nuts? It's freezing!" - Images of gege in the raging storm sent the cussing flying off his tongue before his clouded mind can process anything else.

"F*ck! Wang Yi Bo!" - Xiao Zhan breaks away, about to knee him in the guts, but he's way over that - "I didn't go outside, I know you are smarter than that. But I looked everywhere, where were you?"

Yibo bites his lips trying to get his brain working, he can't affort to mess up again: "The skateboarding ground"

"There's a skateboarding ground?!"

"There's a grey-blue door, and this stair that leads to a big corridor..."

"..."

"The receptionist lady led me there."

"Then why didn't you come back?"

"...I was afraid. I'm scared that you won't forgive me."

Xiao Zhan furrows his browns in anger. A punch lands on Yibo' chest that makes him stagger. "I'm scared, too. I know what I want but I'm still scared." - Xiao Zhan is on the verge of an outburst, he takes a deep breath to retain himself from crossing the line, but tears are trickling from the corners of his eyes instead. He can't care enough that these words are pulsing in the back of his mind and eating on his courage, he needs to get them out there: "I do want you. I want to be with you, Yibo. But I'm scared that we might become too careless around each other..." - his voice fades, exhausted.

Yibo clearly heard these words, he swallowed each and everyone of them. Ironically, he can't digest them very well due to the 'lagging' he gets when he's too consumed by a particular person's beauty. This results in a left-corner-smirk-bonus-disaster:

"Actually, I am already sure that I'll get addicted to your body."

Xiao Zhan can feel the steam coming up from the back of his head - half infuriated, half embarrassed. Rather than showing expressions, he successfully gives Yibo an awakening slap with the lack of it. With the bedroom door swung open and shut, Yibo drops helplessly: "I'm sorry, please don't be mad. I am going to seriously think about it, especially on my part." - Yibo shouts in panic, hand rummaging through his hair in frustration.

"Woosh!" - the beast snaps it's jaw and Yibo is engulfed in total darkness. There's not a single light from outside the window that can help him see, no city-light, no moon and stars, no aurora. He can't catch mere silhouette of anything, not even his own hands when they are right in front him. His blood runs cold.

The bedroom door springs open. In the ray of light, Yibo's face looks paler than usual, even though his skin is pasty white to begin with.

"Pft. AHHAHA" - Xiao Zhan can't hold his laugh looking at Yibo's frighten expression, even though he was still mad. Yibo is frozen at his place, his pupils fully dilated. His soul seems to have left his body for a second.

Seeing Xiao Zhan with a giant flashlight raised Yibo's courage back from the dead, he licks his lips and straightens his pose: "What are you laughing about? Don't laugh!"

"WOW!" - Yibo jumps when the door behind him buckles in a loud bang like someone slammed against it and dropped to the floor. In split second, Yibo has jumped over a table and a couch to his gege's side, locking him in a koala embrace. Other than being stiff, Yibo shows no other sign of fear and appears to be entirely calm. Xiao Zhan, on the contrary, seems spooked, he mumbles under his breath: "Yibo, what twas that. Wat the hell was that! Bo Bo..."

Strange screeches is coming out of their ventilator duct, the metal clangs, louder and louder.

Yibo quickly hides gege behind his back, his left hand on gege's back, keeping him close. He reaches for a steel candle holder with his right, ready to fight. They holds their breaths, keeping the light fixed where black claws are scraping against bars of the metal guard.

"Woosh!" - all the lights come back just as fast as when they were out; the TV is showing Grand Prix Formula One, decorative led-bulbs twinkle where they spell 'Together' on the wall. Only then do they realize how fast their hearts were beating. Darkness and odd noises disappeared like they were part of a dream. As they recover and catch their own frighten looks, pitiful giggles fill the space between them, muffled by their effort to cover each other's mouth.

Familiar knocks - "Ttok ttok". Jinu comes in first with his snack, Mino follows behind, he rubs his back with a grimace.

"The light was out so we wanted to check on you guys. Mino slipped and hit the door, didn't scare you right?"- Jinu smiles and offers Xiao Zhan a pack - _Here, eat the fear away!_

Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo were going to shake their heads in total denial when the odd noises return, suggesting something is throwing itself around in that vent. They choose to hide behind the couch with Mino. Upon hearing the sound, Jinu stops and stares. He opens flash light on his phone and shine into the vent.

"Jinu hiong be careful!" - Mino peeps from behind the couch.

To their horror, Jinu laughs, he rips the metal guard right out with his bare hands, reaches in and grabs the screeching thing. "It's just a little bird, must be the storm..." - Jinu turns around, cupping the worn out bird in his hands, he chuckles - "Poor little thing is scared shit-less."

Despite the turn of event, three people remain in their positions behind the couch. Mino is 'allergic' to chicken and anything chicken-like, which explains his decision. Next to him, the two who aren't at all afraid of chicken are cussing in silent:

"F*ck! Is that..."

"A giant friggin' crow!"

Their bedtime was wonderful for a night full of turbulence. They rise at noon for lunch in their pjs. Having the entire resort for themselves got the idols to throw their burdens out the window. Jinu shows up last at their lunch table, wearing his usual nourishing face-mask, feet flopping his 1991 slippers. He actually woke up first, he can't just skip over his usual grooming routine, and he wants to check on the lady he recently removed from the vent. He laughs and snorts upon seeing his pals finally rocking their mundane, comfortable peasant looks: bird-nests on their heads and circles under their sleepy eyes - feels a lot more approachable this way.

"Hyung, how's the crow doing?" - Yibo asks between bites of 5-cheese wonton and sour seaweed salad.

"She's a raven. Freya takes great care of her." - Jinu replies as he peels the paper mask off his face. Mino was filling Jinu's glass with his favorite corn tea when Freya, the charming receptionist, arrives at their table with two hearty post-it notes.

_Lovely bastards,_

_I have recently been informed that the weather tonight will finally enable Aurora sighting. Your trip has been scheduled at 21:00. Keep warm, stay safe._

_Best of lucks,_

_Mr. X_

_P/s: Thanks for doing the rescue, it'll be nice if you can do the release as well?_

"I think I left my eye-drop back in my room." - Xiao Zhan blinks in irritation, his sensitive eyes are at it again. He will need to wear his glasses tonight.

"I'll go get it for you" - Yibo jumps from his seat, eager to fetch.

"We have to change our clothes anyway. Let's go together." - He scolds Yibo, yet his look is soft, excitement is blooming on his lips.

Watching Yibo tailing his gege so nice and quietly, Jinu nudges Mino: "You think he slept on the couch last night?"

"He better! I mean... it's for his own good." - Mino smiles sheepishly, shaking his head. He hopes Yibo did something right after their 'heart-felt' conversation.

"Hey Mino, I heard something about people who likes spicy food get jealous easily... Mino, didn't you say you have Oh Sehun's number?!"

"But isn't Zhan gege the one who likes Sehun???"

Jinu doesn't answer. He cracks his knuckles in prepare for battle: "Call him! We're gonna form a PUBG unit at 200 sharp."

One knock on the door and Yibo is with them at the resort's E-central, where lines of brand-new gaming PC await; Xiao Zhan tags along, too, reluctantly. Jinu and Yibo settle in their chairs and put on their head gears, with Mino and Xiao Zhan on either side of them, each holding on to their drinks and snacks. Jinu opt that they choose South Korea server and enter team mode: JIn2609, WangYiZhan and... IamOhSehun joins the team.

"Sehun-ssi, glad you can join us!" - Jinu raises his voice.

Yibo and Xiao Zhan are still in the dark until Yibo recognizes the voice in his earphone: "You are really Oh Sehun?" - he yells. Xiao Zhan is as confused as he is hopeful looking at the name on the screen and back at Yibo's face. Yibo's got the answer to his question, his expression turns unreadable saying his greeting. Xiao Zhan turns to Jinu and he gets a wink - it's the Oh Sehun. Yibo immediately goes 200% the second he parachutes from the plane, he's determined to win gege's star-lit eyes back.

20 minutes in, the round is reaching it's critical moments, less than a dozen players are trapped inside an ever contracting safe zone. IamOhSehun uses flare gun for the plane to drop a loot package, giving the team a chance to obtain new valuable items, as well as drawing the other players into their ambush. WangYiZhan takes his triple-kill and closes in to protect the cargo. The area looks clear but WangYiZhan suddenly receives huge damage, someone is attacking him from his blind spot, he quickly takes cover. Without back up WangYiZhan cannot take the risk to move from his place, he's in jeopardy as the blue-wreck-ya-wall is inching his way. In time, his teammates has took out 5 more players and arrive to his rescue. The range of fire aiming at WangYiZhan ceases as IamOhSehun successfully grenade-ed another player. JIn2609 moves in and open the crate, the team hurries back into safe zone. IamOhSehun and JIn2609 cover WangYiZhan on both side, taking hits for him and rule out another. Reaching a seemingly secure area near the edge of the safe zone, JIn2609 and IamOhSehun split off, planning to lure the rest in with their last breaths. It's all or nothing now. WangYiZhan readies in place and aims his new M249 for the finishing. JIn2609 comes back with a chaser, WangYiZhan ends her with a head-shot. The blue wall is moving up right behind WangYiZhan as IamOhSehun pursuits his prey into fire zone. Momentarily, dude takes an arrow in the knee and a bullet in the back, he deceases at the spot just when the wall is just an arm to WangYiZhan's feet. End of round - the team cheers, sending virtual high-fives for their first victory.

They soon start another round, and another,... they don't always win but find themselves a pretty great team, and a lucky one, too, when rare loot items keep showing up when they're in dire situations. At first, Xiao Zhan was attentive, he leans near Yibo's headphone to hear what they were talking about, despite only understanding about 30%. He used to keep his eyes on Sehun's character, which is almost as good looking as the real person, but they went back to WangYiZhan eventually. The name alone is enough to gain his heed. Hours past and his interest devolves into annoyance - Yibo is hitting it off with Sehun and he is nowhere near a part of it.

Mino notices how Xiao Zhan is showing dead eyes when Yibo isn't talking to him or showing off. With a glance of confirm from Jinu, Mino resumes his roll in their plan. He shows Xiao Zhan info about a digital hub in their resort guide, gesturing if he wants to check it out. Xiao Zhan glares at Yibo who's too busy shouting to notice: "I'm gonna go check this place out a bit, keep playing!" Yibo would have turned around when JIn2609 pushes a target on his side, regaining his focus. Yibo can't look twice their way before he's occupied again.

"Jinu hyung is WINNER's final boss for a reason."- Mino grins at the thought.

Their destination lies on the other side of the building, Xiao Zhan was quiet all the way there. His mood was grey until they reach the digital hub for designers - projectors paints a 30-meter curve wall in illusive arts, custom-built PCs are on display, their CPU glows in neon light - multiple processors, graphic cards, 64 GB RAM - ensuring smooth 3D rendering performance. Complete sets of drawing table are further upgraded with all numbers from Renoir, Copic, Faber Castell, Paul Rubens,... Wacom Intuos ready on the side. They loom over the 3D printer in the middle of the room - _this is where designers wanna go when they die..._

The graphic enthusiasts are immediately high on creative energy - squirrel brushes, CS, firm canvases, Lightroom, STATIONARIES.

It's been so long since Xiao Zhan last touched a drawing tablet but muscle memory brings things back real quickly. All it takes is some scribbles and doodles for him to know which is where again. At the exact moment where he decides to be serious, he can't lay down a single stroke. Every intention has something to do with Wang Yibo even though Xiao Zhan isn't trying to think about him. Xiao Zhan is trying not to think about Yibo, and it has, precisely, the opposite effect: Cat! - Yibo is a puppy; Tea! - green tea - green is Yibo's favorite color; Sky! - blue - Lan Wangji - Wang... Xiao.

Xiao Zhan raises and lowers his hand, looks up, looks down, turns right, turns left, bites his lips, bites his thumb, ends up face-palming himself - all observed by Mino. He can hardly hold back his chuckles: "Designer - block? No?" - he casually asks. Xiao Zhan throws him white eyes - blockage is totally normal for artists. Mino shrugs and pouts to prove his innocence - exaggerated acting always works like a charm for Mino, it gets people to laugh and forget about Mino - the prodigious rapper. He goes back to his canvas, but not without tuning up some newest K-pop summer anthems. "For the mood" - he says.

Xiao Zhan doesn't mind, he can use some distraction. He re-sketches some of his own favorite designs, adding some tropical touches for the fun. He was completely in the zone when 'Just Us 2' comes up. He notices Sehun's familiar voice - the song has been on his playlist since release. Surely he loves the song, Sehun and Chanyeol makes a great duo. Though... he can admit to no one that he keeps having wild fantasies listening to it. Nothing more than fantasies - they can't have a private island vacation, can't hold hands in public, can't runaway into the sunset, not yet...

Mino honestly finds the noises made by one's troubled heart insufferable. He scratches the back of his head, finding the right words: "...Jinu's birthday... is 2 days... Can you help me... gift?"

"Sure!" - Xiao Zhan answers. Too much thoughts only gives him more uncertainty, which is annoying. It's been a while since he last get to make use of his hard-earn Bachelor Degree, he's excited to gear up into professional designer mode. He scribbles on a note pad and hand it over to Mino - 'Things Jinu likes", it reads. He takes a look at Mino's canvas waiting for him to fill in answers. The background is of royal blue, half of a bright yellow sphere is painted on the upper left corner, Mino was in the middle of doing it's highlighting. Mino adopts Surrealism in his painting style so it could be the moon, a light bulb or a hat... there's just no guessing. Didn't take long for Mino to finish the list, he knows all the answers, he just had to look up the things he doesn't remember how to spell. Xiao Zhan goes through the list:

" Things Jinu likes

* Cats

* Lamps

* Books

* Football

* Thriller (the genre, and the song)

* Edgar Allen Poe

* AC/DC

* The Beatles "

Xiao Zhan stares at Mino in doubt as Jinu doesn't strikes him as the 'Victorian vampire' type, at all. Mino does his best to express that these are the exact contents he sees in Jinu's room, where Jinu spends most of his time. Xiao Zhan is convinced, he huffs in sympathy - nobody could have guessed Student! Xiao Zhan was a savage either. Besides, in the impossible possibility that Jinu is indeed a vampire, so much will make sense.

Their phone chimes as the others ring them up for dinner - they still have a ride to catch later on.

!

!

!

_[BQYX CONFEDERATION group chat] snippet_

_._

_._

_._

_'ooohsehun' has joined the group chat_

_ooohsehun: I just want to say I did my best. Glad I can help my fan-boy this way._

_ooohsehun: I hope he can still be my fan-boy after this._

_ooohsehun: Bye _^,^

_'ooohsehun' has left the group chat_

_Unig-III: Wow! Didn't see this comin'_

_'X9-3' has sent an image._

_X9-7: I'm on Z gege's side. Yb gege needs to up his game!_

_X9-2: What's up! I've been so busy lately. What did I miss??? @X9-7_

_X9-2: I don't know, I kinda feel sorry for Yb _

_bb: Yibo is going **down** _``w``

_ZwZ: He can leave??!_

_Mr. X: You guys have no idea 😏_


	4. DAY 4

Midnight. The Northern light flows across the sky, rises and falls in a tranquil rhythm, it's color spectrum so peaceful, mesmerizing.

The sight emits such calm energy but it's beholders can barely receive. With in Wang Yibo is a tropical storm - the mugginess, the crashing rain, the silence in the middle of it all. His Zhan gege has been giving him 'the cold shoulder' over dinner, through the 3-hour ride and the 15-minute walk to get where they are. Well, OK, not exactly 'cold' - gege still talks to him, but he was oblivious - absentminded. Xiao Zhan is the type whose feeling is written all over his face, except when he wants to hide it, then his eyes will give up the truth - any of his characters on camera could be a great liar but the real Xiao Zhan is not. That's the reason Yibo feels troubled right now - he can't read any sign showing him where he did wrong, or whether he did wrong at all. He tried to stay cool, to be cute, to make jokes, to be annoying,... but Xiao Zhan reacts to him all the same. He's about to give up and just straight up ask...

Gege is sitting right by him under the open sky, what is there to be afraid?

"Ge! Is this about Oh Sehun?" - Yibo traces back to the source of the problem - "Are you mad you couldn't talk to him?"

Xiao Zhan thought the answer was 'Yes' but it doesn't feel quite right, they could've talked if he stuck around. But he wanted to leave?!

Realization dawns on them both, only, Yibo feels the need to confirm: "NO way... you are jealous that I talked to him?!" - Yibo points at himself, unable to believe in his triumph.

Xiao Zhan can't bring himself to utter a word, he's flustered enough that Yibo saw him right through, and Yibo said it wearing that rascally smirk.

"Zhan ge, dede have thought it through."

"... uhm, is that so... Uh?!"

Out of the blue, Yibo topples his Zhan gege. They collapse on the snow.

Xiao Zhan feels Yibo left hand on the back of his head, blocking away the cold; his hot breath lingering above his lips; so close their noses are almost touching. Then, he get lost in those eyes again.

"Subtlety isn't my style. Dede can sing any song gege likes, but I will only sing 'Nan hai' for you alone. I can teach gege how to dance, to skate, to ride motorcycles, anything you want, but I can't put them into songs, so, dede needs gege to listen closely right now."

Xiao Zhan swallows, cheeks flushed. He can barely breath under the heat of Yibo's thumb brushing against his jawline, under his fluffy scarf...

Yibo is no better:

"Ge, I mean everything I said - that you are the most talented, adorable, attractive; that you are perfect, without flaw; that my heart will stay yours, from when I'm 21 to when I'm 81. I am an adult, ge, but I know I need to keep growing because you deserve that. One day, I will grow taller than ge, I will carry you in my arms without breaking a sweat. I'm going to be strong enough to protect you, care for you, declare to this whole world BQYXSZD, are you listening?"

Yibo pauses as tears swell up in the other's eyes - dark pupils that mirror the sky above. He takes his leap.

"Xiao Zhan, do you have faith in me?" - Yibo asks him, truthful and clear.

It aches his heart, badly. Xiao Zhan wants to say he was wrong, that Yibo is indeed not a 'kid' and he should treat him so; he wants to tell him that - yes, he gets flustered when Yibo talks so lovingly of their relationship and he did try to tone it down - but he genuinely felt happiness in his heart; that he doesn't want to be afraid, he wishes to be braver...

None of them needed to be spoken, not when Yibo is looking at him like this. He blinks and let tears fall in his sign of relief, and with his brightest smile, he replies:

"Wang Yibo, gege waits for you."

"...Puppy, are you crying?!"

"Xiao Zhan, actually, I have something I really want to ask of you." - Yibo sniffles, lowering his gaze.

"What is it? Stop crying!" - Xiao Zhan giggles as his tears keep falling - "My eyes will get puffy tomorrow... What's with that smirk?!"

Yibo uses all the air in his lungs to say it out loudest and fastest: "I really love... I'm not joking, I mean it! I love gege's little happy trail and hairy legs so please don't shave them again."

Yibo is smiling with his puppy eyes and it's smothering his heart. He thought he knew what GD meant when he sang "love is painful", now he realizes it could also means something like "eating too much sugar gives you heart attack" or "I'm torn between kissing and slapping my boyfriend".

"Also, I want to start calling you 'xiao ge', doesn't it sound good?!"

"...'smol ge'? No. How am I smaller than you?"

"You are! Over there!"

Following Yibo's provocative gaze, Xiao Zhan's thin skin is set on fire: "WANG YIBO!" - the young lover's name echos the night.

Not far away, where their trailers took camp, another couple is cooing up together next to the fire. They struggle to keep a straight face like they didn't just high-five overhearing somebody's proposal. Mino chuckles at himself, remembering when he was a love-fervent brat like Yibo. He utilizes his Song-Finger to check out his latest masterpiece - The Molto Brulee Marshmallow - which he will sandwich between choco-chips cookies for Jinu.

The raven shuffles in her cage when she sees Jinu approach. He puts on a thick leather glove before opening the cage for her. The raven climbs onto his hand, her sharp claws tightens finding a firm grip. He raises her up 'til her wings have found their way into momentum - the raven sores. Her feather reflects no light, she circles above them like a dark void amid streaks of light. They bid their goodbye as she travels her way in the universe. Jinu lets out a frosty exhale, tears are brimming in his big round eyes.

"Hiong, are you alright? How are you feeling?" - Mino looks over in concern, offering Jinu the comfort treat.

"I'm alright! I'm just imagining the view that she sees - it must be really breathtaking." - He smiles brightly.

They've been together for years but Mino still can't get over how happy he feels just simply being by Jinu's side - he will always marvels at how good-looking his lover is, how his laugh is genuine and contagious, how his voice could be the crystallization of everything pure or the gruesome death of innocence - switching at his will... 

"Hiong, I think I know now the reason why you are so deeply fascinated by the starry sky. Is it because it makes you feel at home, my angel hiong?"

"aish What the hell!!!" - Jinu laughs out loud, shoving on Mino's chest. His hands were caught, Mino tugs him into an intimate embrace. Sweet warm air encloses them both, sooths their hearts' rhythm. Eyes closed and lips open, they dwell on each other's presence. In his gasp for air, Jinu feels Mino's low voice trembles on his heart-string:

"Kim Jinwoo, I love you."

Mino lifts Jinu's chin up with his index. Affectionate, hopeful, confident - Mino states his wish: "2026. Let's get marry here, no matter what."

Jinu really cries this time, he yells in his bashful fit: "Mino yahhh!" which gets Mino to throw his head back laughing. Jinu jerks Mino back by the collar, on the tip of his toes, he showers his fiance in little kisses.

The heavenly light kept shining on them and their dreams that night, in each other's arms, until the sun rises.

They go on their merry way to visit a glacier cave. They were favored by the gods that a stable glacier cave was discovered this early before winter. Fully geared up, they follow an instructor into a fantasy land shaped by hundred-thousand-year-old ice and the active flow of sub-terrain rivers. The narrow tunnel opens into a dome 30 meters into the glacier, where turquoise ice is visible on the ceiling. The ice turns darker the closer to the ground - cyan, sapphire, then pitch black like the volcanic sand they are walking on. The fading of color, combined with scale-like texture of the icy walls creates a surreal picture. From the end of the tunnel, the world outside is nothing more than a white dot - like they are looking out from the inside of a worm-hole in space.

"If this is a movie, we'll walk out of here and find a different world - maybe thousands of year in the future, or in the past, or one on a strange planet!" - Mino claims as he exams the photos on his camera, clicking his tongue in awe of their beauty.

Xiao Zhan was the most enlivened on their way to the cave tour but now he's oddly quiet. Of course the one whose eyes are consistently glued on Xiao Zhan would notice - he whispers: "Ge, if you wanna sing than sing!"

Xiao Zhan knows Yibo is reminded of that highly embarrassing time when he belted out 'Let it go' and accidentally inhaled some fake snow. He hisses at Yibo in warning - his didi better lose that left-side grin if he doesn't wanna die!

"Don't be mad. I really mean it, if you're shy than I'll sing with you!"

Yibo takes a deep breath in prepare but Xiao Zhan hurries to cover his mouth with both hands: "NO! Don't! We can sing when we get back - that is also fine. We can have a duet however you want. Just not here please!" - Xiao Zhan mutters under his breath as he saw their instructor was staring.

Yibo doesn't really care, he got what he wants - gege's is so close and heart-wrenching adorable. He playfully paste a kiss on the palm covering his mouth and watches gege becomes mortified.

The instructor frowns looking the other way - she has had enough of showy lovers who get even more grossly in love in sub-zero temperature. She can work in icy caves all winter and be single and be perfectly fine.

The trip was a long sequence of joyous moments. They are in good spirit despite having rolling out in the wild for 16 hours - it means nothing compared to occasions where their work day last 60 hours without time for bed.

After lunch, Xiao Zhan and Mino disappears into the design hub again. They only have a few hours to finish a 3D blue print of Jinu's birthday gift. Xiao Zhan has done a few rough sketches so he can start building the model on computer right a way. While Jinu's birthday hashtag starts trending on Twitter, the 3D printer is working at it's highest capacity. Mino tries mixing up some of the colors he finds most suitable - Jinu is a loyal fan of grey and black but lately he has taken fond of amaranth pink and gold. His new golden bed frame came with silky pink sheet and veils, so although vintage posters and thriller novels stay where they were, Jinu's mono-tone room has been given a touch of pizzazz. Mino was surprised by his hiong fancy addition but he realizes now that Jinu might have put his own spin on the 'artsy-feel' he has taken from Mino. The new bed frame is also extra sturdier then the last - they have so much fun since...

The lantern's printing process completes when only few hours are left on the clock for Mino to finish the coloring. He gets on the job with readied brushes and palette, wielding them with care and precision to bring out exactly what he has in mind. For the love of Jinu, Mino is in hyper-focus mode.

They take a deserving tea break after. The paint must have time to dry before Mino can apply hair-thin gold leaves on some details. His neck and shoulders muscles are aching in tension - all worth it. He has absolute confidence it will arise the most heart-fluttering, soul-moving happiness in the beauty that has been stealing his breath every hour. Xiao Zhan feels like he can gloat over Mino's unending signs of contentment. A text message from Yibo puts a smile on his face - Yibo's update on Jinu is peak comedy.

Them disappearing for too long surely would raises some suspicion from Jinu no matter what are the excuses, meaning Yibo was left on guard duty. In fact, Yibo doesn't have to do much since Jinu is already occupied binge-watching his and Xiao Zhan's drama. Through out the evening are Jinu's excited squeals and angry disgruntles; he laughs and sobs and send death stares at the TV screen, but not a single word was uttered. Yibo stays around him to keep watch but they end up watching the drama together instead. He explains where Korean sub don't fully cut the meanings and, at tragic times, plays tissue deliverer. Jinu made it to episode 14 on an emotional roller-coaster at the end of the night.

_Seoul - 08:40, 25/09_

_"Yoon! Lobster is ready!"_

_Seunghoon informs his little brother from the kitchen island. Yoon is sitting at cat-house dinner table with Thor and Haute; Rei and Bei, too, until they are chased off one of the chair when princess Jhonny comes over and demand it. He turns his laptop side way to make sure it can capture Hoonie and his Grilled Pineapple & Lobsters. They starts video calling the other teams._

_Skopelos - 02:42, 25/09_

_The crew rent a villa near the place 'Mamma mia' was filmed. Simon arrived days later, when a free wine tasting festival began and everybody had a real blast, especially the managers who haven't been on break for two years. Most of the crew are still dead asleep when Na P.d, Hoseob, and Simon station in front of a laptop. To quickly recover from hangover, they are digging in some hot chicken pie over a bit of cat-house lovey-dovey shenanigans - in the words of their live-in-manager himself. They pick up the call._

_Reykjavik - 23:41, 24/09 _

_Xiao Zhan taps F5 to pull the group call on full screen, Mino is touching up his work in the background._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jinu has two birthdays: the 25th (real birthdate) and the 26th (official date) of September.  
Mino's bithday is the 30th of March.  
Now what do we have...  
26+9+1991=2026  
30+3+1993=2026  
Yeah so that's why Mino says 2026.  
Thanks MinwooVn for poiting this out ^,^!


	5. DAY 5

00:00

All of the sudden, the large screen went dark, then it's Seunghoon and Seungyoon with Rei and Bei and Jhonny and Thor and Haute in their home wishing him a happy birthday. Cheers burst out from the TV and outside the door. On cue, Yibo jumps from his seat to turn off the lights, just before Mino and Xiao Zhan march in with his lit ice-cream cake. On the divided screen, their manager hyungs appears as well, and Na P.d is beside them, waving.

"You never saw this coming huh? Didn't you? Didn't you?" - Hoony's high pitched scream and exotic dance scares the cats a little, but it makes Yoon giggles so hard his eyes turns into curvy lines above his mochi-cheeks.

Jinu can't do anything but shakes his head as everyone begins to sing. WINNER had always been working at this time of the year, they would have been at the company, or on tour, together, and Jinu would be able to tell if his kids was up to some shit. They are so loud that he can hear them three doors away, it means he knew when to kill the light before they enter the room. Not this time. Jinu is crying like when 6000 J-ICs just throw a birthday event for him at a concert. Mino is afraid of most things, but the thing he fear most is to see Jinu cries. He'd want to do the comfort, not knowing what to say, and ends up crying along. Mino can't let it happen again. He puts the cake aside and steps forward. Mino holds Jinu's tear-drenched face in his firm grasps and leans down to intercept his teeny hiccups with his lips. The audacious act got the room silent. Yoon drops his jaw and holds his head in Hoony's merely-audible laughter - they definitely have seen the two peckin' a few times, but this is a full on french-kiss. The kiss was rather fleeting, enough for Jinu to get weak knees and falls over on the couch though. He must be screaming internally hiding his face like that.

Simon's frantic clapping eventually breaks the silence, he is as emotional as a parent at their kid's wedding. The others chimes in after, with their claps and whistles. Xiao Zhan and Yibo, too, but in the dark, gege notices didi is looking at him instead, the way he always does.

"Hiong! You have to blow the candles before the cake melts off too!" - Mino smiles softly nudging his shy lover's thigh. Jinu quickly pops up, make a wish, and blow out all the candles at once. For a brief moment, darkness took over, then a sunset-like aura irradiates their space.

Jinu's glowing gift has arrived in it's full glory - a Victorian lantern with four story-telling sides. Textured glass panels soften the led light to a dreamy state, adding depth to each thin layers of material - building up a shadow box structure. On one side is a boat sailing the starry sea; the next one depicts a winding road through the forest, on which a buck walks with it's head held high, between its magnificent antlers, at the end of the road, lies a light-house; the forest stretches into the following one, above it, a boy sits with two cats on a full moon in the sky, the boy directs his telescope to the last panel, which is also a hinged door, where a bird is nesting peacefully in a bush of roses. The lantern wears a Rococo styled, shimmering gold crown on top, with it attached a matching chain that'd help Jinu hang the lantern from the ceiling of his room.

Xiao Zhan lifts the lantern higher up, proudly displaying his work on the underside. Sharp laser cuts out lines of letters in mirrored position. Shined on the ground are their names - 'Mino' and 'Jinu' - interlaced into one; the 'M' and 'J' comes together to form a sprig of rose, while 'o' and 'u' makes a cute daisy. 

By Jinu's unblinking stare, Mino assumes he's about to cry again so the light is quickly turned back on, he hugs Jinu tighter.

"Ya Mino! What the hell is this???" - Jinu cracks up to see the lantern under a 'new' light: a tiny red boat on emerald sea is cute; LittlePrince!Jinu with Rei And Bei on the moon is even cuter; he likes the blue roses and the raven, a lot; but the deer?? - the deer that is wearing an AC/DC leather jacket, with sunglasses, trampling on forest fire??

Jinu declares loud and clear: "ABOMINABLE! I love it!"

As told, Jinu splits his cake to an overflowing well of blue and orange sprinkles. He feels funny and sorry that they couldn't share the cake via the internet. Hoony says it's okay, that he doesn't have to worry about it - "...because we already have super-delicious grilled lobsters by chef Hoony!" - he flares the steaming hot, buttery lobsters with juicy caramelized pineapple in front of the camera.

"Do you want it? Do you? Do you want it?" - in a mocking tone, Hoony raises his brow in challenge. Yoon is busy dying in the back.

"Huyng! You still owe us one from last time!"

"Ah! Really? Then should I send this over?"

Hoony places the dish down on the table, from the shallow pocket of his apron, he pulls out a large cloth and a long spatula. Yoon gets up and takes the role as his lovely assistant, he helps raising up two corners of the cloth, concealing the lobsters. Magician Hoony wields his 'wand' - 1,2,3! - the cloth drops to unveil an empty dish.

Hoony takes his bow in everyone's applause. Yoon tosses flower petals at him.

"Uhm... Since the distance is quite long I'm not sure whe!" - Hoon plans to further explain but Haute lost patient, he sprints away from under the table with half a lobster in his mouth, leading his dad to chase after - truly a comedian's magic show.

The tourist-trio in Greece are a little in short of equipment. They decide to make it plain:

"Booze!" - Hosoeb cheers.

Simon scoots over and picks up a small wooden crate from the ground, inside are glass bottles clanking on a bed of dry straws. He lifts some up to show Jinu:

"Turns out the Greek people brews really strong alcohol. This is the Tsipouro, it's kinda like Cognac; and this one is Kretaraki with lemon and rosemary? and Rakomelo... I'm not sure what's in it but it smells really nice."

Na Pd nods, he shyly murmurs: "Uhm... Sorry I tricked you guys again! ahaha... so I paid for the alcohols. Happy birthday Jinu ya!"

Right after Simon drops the crate back behind him, a thud sounds outside their door. Jinu drops his cake on the table, something tells him the same looking crate has manifested itself.

"Kkk! Hey children, I love you!... You punks! You means so much to me. I don't know how my life would turn out to be without you kids... Actually I don't like Ronaldo that much kk, not even Messi. Son Heung Min is the real MVP guys!" - Jinu sips on the aromatic honey-amber liquor, grinning ear to ear.

He's half laying on the thick carpet like a drunk merman - shot glass in one hand, half-full bottle on the other. The drink is so strong that Mino and Yibo wisely gave up after three. Jinu's rambling has been going on for nearly an hour, during which the hangover-ing seniors excused themselves back to sleep. The more drunk Jinu gets, the odder things he says, to the point where the rest feel like they have joined John, Paul, George and Ringo on their 'strawberry field'. They slips winks across, coding their retreats.

Not a force in the world could possibly move Jinu when he's not done drinking. Mino stays as Jinu's cuddle pillow as he continues babbling until he falls asleep on his chest, then Mino doesn't find himself bothered enough to move - he's warmed enough, he's at peace, and as happy as he can be.

Xiao Zhan is glad he stayed miles away from that liquor, though it's still useless that he did since Yibo will certainly behave abnormally in his part. He finds Yibo's hot breath ghosting his neck following the clicks of their door. The light was supposed to be on - absolutely isn't what Yibo has in mind as his body-heat slithers into gege's personal space. Xiao Zhan's waist is locked inside an iron clasp, Yibo's chin hangs heavy on his left shoulder. Xiao Zhan rolls his eyes - Yibo must be standing on his toes to do this. He attempts to drag Yibo into bed in this position if he isn't going to move on his own. It'll be dishonest to say his heart isn't beating fast. Yibo can hear it clearly, he chuckles into the crook of gege's delicate neck. The brush of his lips sets fire to one's skin, his wet kiss makes one lightly trembles. Yibo shuts his eyes and fills his lungs to his desire, sinking into the scent of crisp air in early morning, alpine forest after the rain, steaming-hot mocha on a cold winter... he breaths out a faint whisper:

"You don't have to tense up, I won't do anything against your will..." 

Xiao Zhan stops the young lover's arms from letting go. He turns around to observe Yibo's bewildered expression, he intents to reply in the same manner.

"Then what if my will is... 'Do as you please!'?"

Truth is, Yibo is still mostly sober. He liked the taste, but it was igniting thoughts he was trying to stay clear of, he might do something stupid again if he had another, so he stopped. He's trying his best to refrain, even thinking about dealing with it himself, later when gege is asleep...

"For... for real?" - Yibo seeks for his gege's final consent. 

"Sure! I'm in the mood too."

Xiao Zhan expected his didi to wild out but Yibo is just standing there like he was short-wired. In a blink of blinding light, Xiao Zhan was pushed over into the soft bounce of linen-lined-mattress. He isn't sure from where didi suddenly got such strength. Anyhow it no longer matters now that Yibo has dominated the space above him and between his legs, marking every inches of exposed and soon to be exposed skin in a scent of his own. Xiao Zhan has no regrets letting himself carried away, stripped down and bared out. He's more than glad to voice any moan and whimper, knowing it'll embolden Yibo's audacity. He didn't sense the danger until large palms are bruising his ass-cheeks, grips so full and tight it makes him shiver. 

"Don't be scared!" - Yibo grins, he reassures his gege with a peck on his lips - "I won't... inside... this time."

Brunch!

Jinu almost spat out his drink in a cackle when he sees Xiao Zhan's 'markings' peeping under his collar: "And I thought I had the most fun last night!"

Xiao Zhan is at lost as the others struggle to hold their grins, especially Yibo, who's looking so apologetic at him but won't explain a word.

Chef Hoony's lobster has arrived through 'a magic portal', and it taste wonderfully - not like of a fancy restaurant, more like mom's, an inexperienced mom, but they can all feel the love.

That noon, by Freya's suggestion, they visit the geyser that has been vital to them the past few days. The hot water from a nearby geyser is what runs through their heaters and powers their electricity-generators. The geyser is as helpful as it is a sight to marvel - on an icy plain where one side is a visible skyline and the other is a range of mountains, all seems to be still and silence, except every ten minutes, boiling-hot water and steam erupts from tons of geothermal pressure that cracks deafening thunder.

The heat fades so quickly they can merely feel its warmth, it's the noise that is keeping them standing further away. Jinu wishes he could film the geyser from above, if only he has his drone with him. He left his white drone at home thinking it'd be hard to find among the snow once it fell. For that he is a bitty envious of Mino's brand-new 15,000$ digital camera which can takes great photos and film at cinematic level. 

"Ge! It's so cold, stand up!" - Yibo doesn't want gege to lay on the cold snow just to film him with the geyser. To his urges, Xiao Zhan keeps yelling at him to stay still instead. The geyser can shoot at any moment and Xiao Zhan wants to take the best tik-tok video for his didi. He must adjust the angles so didi can look as tall as the water column - it was about right when he notices a black dot in the background. He thought it was a stain on the screen at first, but it grows larger the more he tries to wipe it away.

After a while, it reaches human size - a figure in pitch black attires and skiing gears, lean and well built; their strides are swift and precise, graceful yet powerful, resembling a panther. Despite the great traveling speed, the person ceases in front of them as lightly as a fallen leaf. Strangely, even with face entirely covered, the four can tell the person smiled at them. The stranger speaks, waving their hand, voice slightly muffled by the mask:

"Hey kids! I'm Mr. Y, Mr. X's husband!"

The four are struck with awe.

"Sorry I can't tell you my real name, but I'm sure you guys have it in there somewhere!" - he laughs, pointing at his head.

"Anyway, I'm here to deliver dear Jinu's birthday presents, so here's the first one!" - he presses a button on a suspicious-looking device.

They expects a loud bang of some sort and there it is, though they are sure it has nothing do do with the switch - the geyser behind them shoots up a 15-meter high column of water, like it always does. Except when tiny little droplets of water are blown away and becomes frozen - forming a white cloud that floats mid air, and they see an orange heart with 'Jinu' projected onto it.

"Happy birthday uri Jinu! Ssaranghae!" - he performs a cute dance in front of the heart, which ends with his arms forming the same heart above his head.

Jinu and Mino are still taken by the interesting birthday gift but the weird presentation has Yibo disappointed, he had expected so much more from such cool looking person and Xiao Zhan knows exactly what his didi means.

The mysterious man must have caught their faint glance of loath, he hastens to resume the super-spy image - swinging off a literally-smoking case from his back. The case opens with the mechanical sound effect from transformer, but they can't see a thing through the cloud of smoke.

"And here's the second one. Off I go now! Annyeong!" - unwilling to stick around for the smoke to disperse, he disappears the way he came - again a blurry blot in Xiao Zhan's eyes.

Jinu hugs the box like it was the dream bicycle he had always wanted when he was a kid, and more. His second birthday gift is a new drone, bigger than his current one, of deep purple - green chrome color, and it can mount Mino's camera.

"Hiong!" - Mino coddles his baby camera facing Jinu's intention - of course Jinu can have his way, but just in case, Mino wants to hold on to it a little longer.

_"Babe, can you stop stalking on the kids?"_

_"But they are so cute!"_

_"Am I not cute?! Step away from that telescope and I'll warm you up by the fireplace"_

_"Tempting! Though I wonder how the kids would reacts if they ever find out who you are... the equivalent of Han Guang Qun in Idoling business??? Kkk"_

_"I think they would be more shocked to find out... Theatrical! Yi Ling Lao Zu has been playing cupid on them."_

Jinu haven't put down the laptop since they came back, he replays again and again the aerial footage he has taken of the geyser. There are a few notes to be taken but overall the shots are really good. The one where he filmed from directly above the geyser as it blows up is his most favorite. It got Mino jumpy but Jinu wouldn't have tried it risking the safety of Mino's beloved camera. Jinu was confident that the drone was off limit of the geyser's trajectory, and zooming function on Mino's camera does miracles. The result is a hyper realistic representation of what it'll look like to be geyser-ed in the face and it has Jinu's heart over-thrilled with joy.

Mino adores how Jinu smiles so brightly as he re-watch and makes some edit, until he rubs his tired eyes and groans at stiff shoulders, but the smile's still there. 

"Jinu ya, take some rest."

How can Jinu resist Mino's sweet plea, he leans back and let Mino provides some relaxing squeezes.

"Thank you Mino ya, lending me your expensive camera like that, kk!"

"It's nothing. I can do anything for you, anything and more than that."

Jinu laughs when Mino's soft kiss lands on his forehead. He has been having nothing but happiness for the last few days, and it's his birthday too - one of his best ever, he guesses his feeling right now is called 'euphoria'. He breaks a cheeky grin:

"You even said you are willing to dress me up."

"That's true."

"Than what about the undressing?"

"...Hiong!" - Mino exhales - "Didn't I say you should rest?"

Jinu'd like to differ but Mino blocked it with his lips, he chuckles: "Stay still, I'll take care of the rest."

Jinu sleepily whimpers as Mino leaves a light spank on his naked peach before slipping off their bed. Now Mino is the one who's too high to sleep. He wants to scream from the top of his lungs, spilling out polished rhymes for his gorgeous muse, but at the same time doesn't want the world to know - he can't bare the thought of sharing his lover with anyone. So, what can he do?

Mino turns on Vlive. He names his broadcast today 'Goooodmoooood'.

"It's Jinu hyung's birthday." - he smiles.

Mino shows off his new camera, his new tattoo, his welted sunflower, he plays with an elf doll with crazy neon pink hair, he tries on filters 'cause ICs ask him to, he chats with siri about his new songs. Mino's in cloud nine, and ICs don't know why, they don't have to, they are happy with him and that's enough.

In the end, Mino wishes everyone a good night, for he had 'a good night' himself.

The temperature drops below 5 that evening and it's the perfect time for hotpot. They gather around a kotatsu in the comfort of their room, toes wigglin' under the table's heater. The steaming ceramic pot doubles as a heater that they can thaw their frozen fingers with, helping them to get flexible before the chopsticks 'war'.

Purple potatoes, cabbage, corn and fungi have been boiling for a while in the divided pot - the left half is a super-nine-chilies spicy broth,dark and shiny of chili oil; the right half is a milky, mildly sour and sweet broth made of bone and herbs, simmered for 8 hours. The contrast reminds Jinu of a couple in the most recent drama he watched - they seems of completely opposite characteristic, like fire and water, yet they can mingle perfectly - just like the bickering two sitting in front of him.

"I told you to put your favorite beef bowel into that not spicy one, this one is too spicy for you, why don't you listen to me?!" - Xiao Zhan snaps at his didi, pointing his chopsticks at the pot.

"I told you 'm okay, I want dis one, wy don't yu listen to me!" - Yibo snaps back with his numbed tongue. He regrets it right after gege rolled his eyes at him:

"Ge! Ge... I'm sorry... " - Yibo takes gege's hand in proof of his sincerity.

Xiao Zhan throws a glare back at him, withdrawing his hand from didi's. He refills Yibo's glass with more water.

The hotpot's aromatic broth, complimented by the richness of the meat and subtle sweetness of fresh veggies, cut and elevated by soju's vibrant cords of floral notes gets Jinu to hum in delight. The soju is cool and velvety smooth, no heavier than a Lambrusco, so it's suitable for meals to savor like this one, and for lightweights like Xiao Zhan. 

However lightweights are still lightweights, by the end of the meal, and his third glass, Xiao Zhan has shrunken into a rosy-fluff bunny.

"Ge, you wanna take a nap?" - Yibo murmurs in his ear.

Xiao Zhan shakes his head and pouts, though he still can't fully open his eyes.

"Then you up for karaoke?"

Why karaoke? It's not like they don't have karaoke at home... It's just... seems like a proper thing to do after hotpot.

Xiao Zhan nods, thrilled, he softly claps twice and giggles.

"Hyung! Look, there are romanised lyrics for all these songs!" - Mino exclaims.

Jinu doesn't answer him, he's calm and reserved like a Sphinx, staring into the void, or Xiao Zhan who's warming up with Chinese ver. Producer 101 'Pick me'.

Yibo cheers his shy gege on from below, where he has his phone up filming. Gege has been picking up on his hip-hop style lately, it got him to miss gege's cutie style so bad. He can't possibly miss out on this opportunity to pull an over-sized cardigan and a beret on gege. It became easy since drunk Xiao Zhan just let him do whatever he pleases. He's thinking about bunny ear hoodie for later, then probably something more ravishing like nothing at all.

Mino and Yibo are going bat-shit wild on a MOBB mix-up. Their profanity and raunchy dancing are getting out of hand. Jinu laughs as he tries to avoid Mino's bedroom eye. Yibo is serving up to Xiao Zhan an unusually detailed graphic description of his idea for tonight through a lap dance, which Xiao Zhan merely got a glimpse of watching it between his fingers, his squeals hit the eighth octave with each rolls and thrusts of Yibo's hip. Yibo has to stop 'cause he can't hold his laugh in anymore, messing with his gege is the most fun he can ever have.

Jinu picks 'Sunflower' by Post Malone for Mino. Just as he wanted, Mino got so high that every cell on his body was singing the song. Mino goes the extra mile to pushes it three tones higher, shutting his eyes as he belts the high notes. Yibo is lying face down on the ground next to him, snickerring in the exhaustion of his own act.

Jinu leans over to whisper in Xiao Zhan's ear.

Mino and Yibo are startled by a whimper. Jinu was shoved onto the floor, Xiao Zhan pins him down from above, hands over his throat. They couldn't see his face but the atmosphere around him alone is enough to makes them shiver. Jinu's challenging glare is no less threatening, his smirk is sinister, demonic. Aghasted, Mino and Yibo froze as if they were entangled in a clash of serial killers.

"...Ge?" - Yibo can't utter another word as Xiao Zhan turns his head to look at him. Gege feels like another person, the dark void in his eyes is terrifying. Yibo struggles to swallow his fear, the chill in his bone makes him jolt at an unexpected place. He's unable to fathom why he'd very much like to be the one in Xiao Zhan's choke, he blames it on the alcohol.

Jinu takes the chance to overturn, straddling Xiao Zhan under him, the glint of metal flashes in his grip.

"HYung!" - Mino shrieks. He exhales in relief that he's got Jinu's attention, he's kneeling on all three with a hand over his heart.

It caused an uproar among the two who were at each other's throats just seconds ago. Xiao Zhan raises his phone up to capture his victims' meme-faces. Jinu tosses the coin in his hand at Mino's slow-witted face and collapse on the floor in hysterical laughter. He claps his hands with Xiao Zhan in celebration of their successful prank. Drunk or not, Xiao Zhan is still an excellent actor.

"Aiya Ge! What makes you think this is a good idea?" - Yibo wails in displease. Xiao Zhan points at Jinu.

"HIONG!!!" - Mino shouts, he almost cried.

"You still think I'm cute when I'm angry? Laugh when I snap at you? Show some respect!" - Jinu sticks his tongue out at Mino.

The little brothers have no idea what to say, one minute their boyfriends acted like they were possessed and now they are twittering over an embarrassing photo...

"Not that I don't want to see it but can you imagine if they were to be in a movie together? Like that." - Yibo squints, raising one brow at the thought.

"It'll make a great thriller. Though I think it'll become more like a horror to me... to us - marked down as very scared and horny!"

!

!

!

_[BQYX CONFEDERATION group chat] snippet_

_L.XL: Now you see what I meant when I said he has things that are longer than me despite being shorter than me._

_xiaojj<3: oh god, please, stop! TvT_

_M.YisdatB: Just ignore him, sis -,-_

_L.XL: I'm talking about patience, he has more patience than me. He's doing his gege very well!_

_ZwZ: You mean he's being kind, he's being considerate?! Please tell me that's what you mean =_=_


	6. DAY 6

Cracking up at each other is the first thing Mino and Yibo does when they meet the next morning. It's like looking in a mirror, they can see a co-acknowledgement - like the reason for which their hyungs are still in bed. Mino is impressed by Yibo's rocket-acceleration, he suddenly got curious but decide he'd rather avoid something so personal.

"I think I nailed it this time!" - Yibo's honest disclosure makes Mino choke on his soup. He truly appreciates that this little bro confides in him so much, but to discuss this over breakfast...

Well, they are safe here so he guesses that's okay. Mino stops eating in favor of his own well being. He chuckles: "How so?" - not willing to tell if the kid is too confident or too naive.

"Uhm..." - Yibo leans back in his chair, pondering over the answer - "It was kinda wild, I can't even recall everything we did... I remember calling him 'daddy' at one point."

Mino is startled: "You mean... ya not..."

Yibo furrows his brows, not quite getting what Mino means to ask: "I'm not what? Of course I'm not really his kid! It was just a game-thing where I do everything he asks, calling names and all."

"Yeah... No, I knew what that was, I meant..."

"Ohh..." - Yibo finally gets the hint - "No! I definitely topped. I was under, but I topped." - he firmly demonstrates with a hand gesture. Yibo remember gege was demanding him to stay still and let 'daddy' does as he please. It was close to torture at first as his gege was taking a painstakingly slow pace, Yibo could only grind his teeth and endure - it's what he promised to do. He was greatly awarded after all - how he got gege to presses down on his windpipe while riding him in frantic rhythm is beyond his wildest imagination. He wonders if gege will do it again should he asks... - "I sure hope there will be a next time..."

Mino is rendered speechless by Yibo's dispirited remark, he shrugs: "Sounds like it went great anyhow! I'm sure there'd be a next time, with a lot more to look forward to, when you are both sober."

"I wasn't that drunk!" - Yibo disagrees.

"Maybe you were, just enough to not realize, ya know, how your usually timid gege got that bold when he's drunk, the reason behind it?!" - Mino further adds, hoping the young lad can answer for himself - "I know it isn't always accurate but drunk words are true words dude!"

Yibo gasps as the answer comes to him, so enthralled by it that he shouted out loud: "Oh motherf*cker he really wanted to fuck me the whole time!" - his gege just didn't have the gut to do it sober.

"Dude!" - Mino cracks up upon Yibo's reenactment of the Psyduck meme, he does a favor helping the kid reconfirm: "Yeah, you nailed it alright!"

"Chinyu ya! Look who brought you breakfast!"

Mino jumps on bed next to his sleepy lover. He playfully rubs the new dots of stubble on Jinu's chin, placing a morning kiss on Jinu's fluffy ruffled hair. Jinu doesn't bother to open his eyes as he drags Mino back under the warm cover, he buries his head in Mino's warm chest - returning himself in the embrace of Mino's distinguish scent. Mino chuckles sweetly at his lover's clingy act: "You liked my gift from last night that much?"

Jinu nods. Mino's chest still feels a little too skinny. Jinu wants Mino to be happy and eat some more, he nods again, rubbing his head in Mino's chest to tickles him.

"Should I keep giving it to you then, huh, birthday boy?" - Mino teases, his grin is fueled by dark intention. He rises on his elbow to pin Jinu down, stopping him from further igniting fire.

Mino feels blessed to always be welcomed into Jinu's personal space - so effortlessly, defenselessly. Right now Jinu's right wrist fits so comfortable in the cuff of his left hand; thick thighs spread to accommodate his presence, but soon tightened around his hip, entrapping him. Jinu lazily opens his eyes, raising one brow in challenge, he swings his free arm around Mino's neck, closing their distance until he can murmurs on Mino parted lips: "You can try..." - then he wrestles Mino over and slips out of bed himself - "... but we are out of condoms!" - he yells, leaving Mino to watch his naked butt disappears behind the bathroom door. Mino sighs - he feels so amused being fooled around, like he got hopelessly addicted to Jinu's devilries. 

_"Do you think they'll like my cooking?"_

_"You mean if they'll recognize you from it? Probably... Ya ready for round 3?"_

_"Tsk! Slow down! I'm mortal now."_

_"Babe, you are no angel anymore so why afraid to sin?"_

_"..."_

_"Yup, that's my take on it! And don't you say that it doesn't turn you on, you know I know you too well."_

They are inside a Volkswagen camper van, on the shore of a hot spring. The tire-less car rests on four stacks of bricks, enjoying its glorious retirement, decorated with dried flowers, strings of lights and colorful wool carpets.

There's no other place more warm and comfortable than this to indulge in some hearty comfort food. Fiery wings and beer is awesome, but how can he skip over the aromatic shiitake wonton soup with lots of chives, or the crispy, soft and savory Taiwanese egg-pancake... Jinu is in a crisis just trying to decide what to eat first and what's for later, though he's sure that he'll save the charcoal-grilled eel with sake for last. Everything smells overwhelmingly fantastic and particularly familiar. Peculiar enough, they all share the same thought.

Jinu, Xiao Zhan and Yibo - their expressions at the first bite are simply of pure bliss - a mouth-gasm so intense their intended investigation vaporizes from memory. Compared to these 'culinary fanatics', Mino is relatively calm, he tries to remember where and when he had tasted these flavors, is it four or five months ago?!

"This might sound selfish and very insensible but I want to say these are the best birthdays I have ever had!" - Jinu hums after a sip of warm sake. He's neck deep in hot spring water where his creaky old bones feel like they are melting. A serving of smoky fat eel floating by his side, a jade sake vile half-submerged in water and a layer of silicon mud mask plastered on his face. Jinu's soul would have left it's body from too much euphoria, watching the Northern light rises and falls in the sky above...

"Jinu, are you still alive?"

"uhhhhhhh... hm?!" - Jinu was slightly startled to realize it's Xiao Zhan looking down on him from the edge of the pool - "eyyyy... you speak Korean!"

"Yibo just taught me!" - Xiao Zhan giggles, repeating word by word - "Are You Still Alive?"

"I Am Still Alive!" - Jinu replies in the same melody, shaking his head side to side, he looks up at Xiao Zhan again and notices he hasn't took off any clothes. He searches around and finally shouts: "Wang Yibo, come get your boyfriend!" In less then 10 seconds, Yibo has arrived for his duty. Jinu waves goodbye to Xiao Zhan being hauled to the next pool - "no need to thank me!" - he gives a thumbs up. Mino arrives just in time to catch the last scene - "What happened?" - he asks, throwing aside the towel that's been keeping him from total nudity.

Xiao Zhan wouldn't stay still when Yibo is trying to remove his shirt, saying that it's too cold and he'll go in with his clothes on - it's draining the young lover of his patience.

"Ge! How can you still be so shy after all the things we did? There's nobody here!" - he roars - "Are you trying to make me go insane?!"

Xiao Zhan glares in defiance but his didi isn't backing down this time. Yibo takes another step up, and another, until Xiao Zhan is clammed between him and prickly stone wall.

"Have I been too obeying lately that you forgot what I'm capable of?" - each of his word translates directly into the shivers that's going down Xiao Zhan's spine. Yibo is looking up at him but he feels so small himself. His breaths hitch and his body jolts when Yibo grunts his command: "Take it off! Take it all off!"

Yibo takes pleasure in watching his gege slowly pulling down the zipper of his hoodie, uncovering his collection of red and blue hickeys, one by one - they trails from the girth of his collar bones, to the plain of his stomach, to the dip of...

"Go on!" - the rumble in Yibo's voice aches with need - "Or do mine instead." - he guides the other's soft fingers to the fold of fabric that's hanging loosely around his hip. By one trembled tug, it has fallen on the ground. What a sight to be seen! - Xiao Zhan gulps as he stares at something too 'significant' to be ignored. 

"Uhmm... so big..." - Xiao Zhan whimpers as he works, giving little didi the best of his attention. The heat of his own ardor alone is making it hard for him to breathe, even more so when he's surrounded in nearly scalding water.

"That's because your hands are so small!" - Yibo teases him.

Xiao Zhan annoyance is snuffed by the massive cock in his mouth. He lets it reaches as deep as he can bare to withstand, up to the constrict of his throat, and still can't swallow the whole length. He keeps two fingers circling its base, his other palm stroking the rest. His tongue slides over the veins on the underside as it goes in, then out with the tip of his tongue flips and piques at the opening of the urethra.

Yibo is slowly losing control, going crazy about how good his gege is at giving head. He halts the older back by a handful grip of his silky strands, forcing his swollen red lips to leave the treat - "Tell me, have you done this before?"

Xiao Zhan shakes his head - "I have only ever thought about doing it with you, so I went learning from porn..." - he smiles sheepishly - "and you the other day, you taught me well!"

His gege's bright eyes are looking back at him, as brilliant as a sea of star, and Yibo can't hold back the urge to kiss him, not minding tasting himself on those lips. He lets gege suckles on his tongue the same way, or knots them and gives gege a buzzing nip. They have an unhealthy habit of not breaking the kiss until one or both have tasted blood of the other. As so, the kiss drags on long enough for Yibo to join his gege in the body of water, freely roaming his palms all over his lover's sensitive spots... - "Gege I think I'm going nuts over your giant squishy bum."

The faint rhythmical splashes of water echoing from beyond the fence got Jinu to sough - meanwhile he's here feeling like he'll need a new hip in his 40's.

"Haiz, teenager!"

"Hiong! All you have to do is ask."

"Great! Then I'm asking that we do it once every two days. I'm tired."

"But it's me who does all the work! Is this like a male-menopause thing?"

"Excuse me?!!"

If the wrath in his hyung's eyes screams anything, it must be "I'm not letting this slips, you brat!". Jinu's scratches and claws on his back are still itching from last night, when he was taken over by desire and rammed into his tiny hyung entirely merciless. What if Jinu switches to pulling at his precious hair next time? He should have learned his lesson... "Hiong! I'm sorry. You know all kinds of gibberish can spill from my mouth when I'm giddy." - "Oh SHIT!" - Mino gasps.

"Is that a fucking example?!" - Jinu rages.

"No! I just... You remember after our last comeback, we played that drinking game watching 'Tazza'? When it got to that scene and I laugh so hard that I spilled whisky from my mouth and you told me I was an idiot?!"

Jinu blinks his big brown eyes in confusion since it sure sounds like an extremely fun night he should absolutely have no memory of. Though if Mino puts it that way... - "Was it the Royal Salute 23?"

"Yes!" - Mino exclaims - "Do you remember who brought the whisky? He grilled eel for you!"

Jinu's train of thought arrives at the truth having connecting all the dots, he stutters: "Oh shit! It's... wait, he got married and we weren't invited?!" - Jinu feels offended.

"Well to be fair, I'm pretty sure no one were..." - Mino speaks in defense of their lovable sunbae.

Time flies and soon it'll be the end of their final night in Iceland. They'll have an early flight to catch tomorrow morning - to return to their place in reality, where the harsh, but rewarding life of celebrities awaits.

Xiao Zhan won't be able to have didi falling asleep on his thighs like this as easily or often. It'll be days, or weeks between the times they could meet, and months before they can spend time alone with each other again.

Yibo was awoke by a warm droplet streaming down the side of his face. He shifts to wipe off trace of tear from the corner of his ge's eyes, as it was tugging at his heart.

"Xiao gege!" - he calls, his smile glints of solace - "You know we can talk everyday, and night, and I'm going run to you whenever I have the chance. I can keep doing that forever!"

"But what if I can't?" - Xiao Zhan's breath quickens under the weight on his chest. He's got that future envisioned, it's rather funny now that he's about to say it out loud: "I will drop everything, call it quit! Then I'll be jobless and in debts."

"Hey, it won't be that bad." - Yibo sits back up to face his gege, hungry to share the humor - "We'll be jobless together!"

The younger lover is enthusiastic, positively hopeful: "Still, you can design and I can do pro-motor racing. In a few years we can open a hotpot place or a bakery, we'll make enough to produce our own movies!"

"7 years? I still have 7 years on my contract."

"Great! I'll start planning our wedding. Do you think this place takes 7 years in advance booking?"

Xiao Zhan finds Yibo's cute cheeky grin slap-able right now, he leans over and pinches them 'til they are matching the color on his: "Was that a proposal, Yibo? Do it properly!"

"Okay." - Yibo gets off the couch and on one knee - "Will you akk..."

Xiao Zhan tackles his didi to the ground, he needed to shut Yibo up with a kiss before his heart burst - "Save it, I want to hear it when you got a ring, racing champion!" He crosses his heart and makes a promise - "Then I, Xiao Zhan, will accept your proposal in my own office, hopefully a studio overlooking Huangpu river."

Yibo crosses his heart too - "Xiao CEO sounds great! Xiao CEO's fiance Wang Yibo sounds even better!"

Mino and Jinu are finishing packing up their stuffs, or Mino's stuff to be exact, Jinu is done with his hours ago. Mino has his cameras left out and three coats lying on the couch, his accessories box remains opened for he hasn't decide which one he'll wear to the airport tomorrow yet - trying one on and taking one off. Jinu notices two paintings Mino just brought back are still lain against the wall.

"Mino ya, if you aren't packing these two then you must give them time to do it!"

Jinu can guess which painting is for whom: the one where white lion is watching the moon must be for Xiao Zhan, and the one where black rabbit looks toward the sun must be for Yibo. The two paintings are like pieces of a puzzle, they can come together and be one despite having their own unique charms being apart. They should be great for when their owners are missing each other.

"I know, I'll be heading over now. Ya coming along? We should tell them what we know." - Mino pushes his sunglasses to the top of his head, striking a pose for Jinu's approval.

"Wow, gege, this bunny looks like you from behind!"

"Really?! From behind I'm a big black circle with two antennas over my head?! Because I'm a wifi router?"

"Yeah!"

"Then stop lagging when I send you 'signals', WEB!" - Xiao Zhan smacks him on the back.

"OK! I'm sorry, I'll try harder."

Of course Xiao Zhan'd understand the concept of abstract, but Yibo's jokes always get him to play along. It's his game to turns them against Yibo somehow, though he had rarely succeed. Now he gets to watch the usually brazen youngster got bit back by his own words - Yibo is cuter, acts more like a good little brother, which he hasn't been keen on the last few days. The lower half of Xiao Zhan is still aching and sore and his feisty lover is all to blame.

Mino is hyped for compliments but he politely refuses their thanks - it's his gift of gratitude after all.

"By the way, we might know who Mr.X is, care to find out?" - Mino wiggles his brows.

"Mr.X is Jungi hyung." - Yibo blatantly states.

Jinu and Mino drop their jaws in shock: "How did you know?"

Yibo looks over at his gege, who's taking photos of their new paintings in front of the window, and shrugs: "He fits the profile!". Yibo counts his fingers: "We all know him. He likes all of us, apparently cooked for us before. He has the means to pull this off, and by that I mean motive, wealth and connections. That's three giant-ass reasons."

Now that Mino and Jinu are thinking about it, they don't see why they could have skipped over that possibility. Jungi hyung is an avid fanboy of Jinu, that's a fact, and he has just returned from filming a drama with Yibo and Xiao Zhan, that alone is enough for him to be considered the number one suspect.

"Hyung even said he was gege's fanboy, I thought he was joking..." - Yibo discloses.

"What are you guys talking about?" - Xiao Zhan asks Yibo after he's done wrapping up their gift. Maybe it'll be weird if he and Yibo are seen carrying them at the airport, he'll have to ask Freya to put those through the mail later.

"Your crazy shifu stuffs." - Yibo answers.

"Oh, old news! I'm more curious about Mr.Y now, he said his name is somewhere in our head, remember?"

_"I hope the kids can stay happy like this. I can't protect them so I guess I can only pray."_

_"Babe, you managed to create a miracle without grace, there's no need to doubt yourself."_

_Yes, the state of their world seems bleak - haters lurks like bottom-feeders and tyrants are up high;_

_Ignorance spreads like rain-forest fire and pollution stains the sky._

_No, we are not giving up, or turn a blind eye;_

_Small efforts counts, and to a brighter future we strives._

_Under this Polar light, we are side by side,_ _ with love, we all will be fine._

_"And you always tell me that Karma is only a bitch to scumbags, right? Good things will come to those kids, I'm sure of it!"_

_"Yeah, yeah... girl's got no respect for Time but she's really good at her job."_

-End?!-


	7. DAY 7 - Bonus chapter

Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo's flight back was 15 hours 47 minutes long.

There were 9 hours 35 minutes of sleep, 3 hours 48 minutes of watching movies and gaming, 1 hour 27 minutes of talking, and 57 minutes of silence, spent just to be in each other's presence.

As soon as the plane landed, Yibo will have to travel for another 8 hours and Xiao Zhan for another 6. They have people ready on set and dramas to film. The paintings Mino gave them will be sent to there homes and stayed unopened for at least 2 weeks. So, they assume they should have their time right now - getting off the plane last, missing on their luggage a few times, taking a little longer passing through security - doing nothing more than texting on their phones despite standing close to the other. The staffs doesn't rush or move them, not even when some other passengers were sneaking photos.

It's just a 200 meters walk to the door where fans are awaiting - in less than 8 minutes they'll have to act like mere acquaintances, and Yibo has long had enough of quietly staying 10 meters behind gege, watching him getting surrounded in a swarm of strangers, pretending he wasn't infuriated when they dare lay their hands on his lover. In less than 3 minutes, it has been decide, Yibo puts away his phone and runs to his boyfriend's side. 

"Ge, I want to walk with you!"

"Are you mad? We've talked about this!" - Xiao Zhan was stunned, his pace fasten in panic.

Yibo holds him back by his wrist, he explains: "Isn't it even more suspicious when we keep distance but my bodyguards are with you, like last time!"

"Then take them back!"

"No. You need more protection than I do."

Xiao Zhan stops to look Yibo in the eyes - there they are again, the light that says didi has made up his mind and nothing can change that. "Yibo! We're gonna get in trouble!" - he wails.

Yibo firmly shakes his head - "I don't think so! We are 'colleagues'. Everybody knows we are close, why can't we be seen together? What's wrong with a couple of dudes being bros, right?"

"Dudes? Bros?"

"Yeah! Your little brother, junior in acting, Wang Yibo is me."

Xiao Zhan huffs, and he can't say anything else now that Yibo has leaned over and softly threatens: "Or I can be Wang Yibo the over-protective younger boyfriend whose bodyguards are always with you!"

"Maybe... maybe you can happens to be in Chongqing some days after the Lunar Newyear?" - Xiao Zhan turns away, continue walking, but slower this time, signaling for Yibo to follow.

"Yeah! Maybe Tian Tian will film in Chongqing on early February, I'll ask about it." - Yibo nods eagerly.

Yibo may not like to be called a kid, but his smile surely belongs to one, it can be so assuring and calming to Xiao Zhan - warm like the sun. Yibo's laughter could be rare to others, but it's natural around his gege - undulating and resonate. Slowly they corrode away Xiao Zhan's reserving image - he messes around, he becomes wild, he has that kind of freedom and relief because he has this kid with him - his kid.

"Bobo!" - Xiao Zhan yanks Yibo back before he can make the final corner. "I'm a bit scared but what the fuck!" - In a flash, Yibo was pushed against the wall, he was kissed, then he was left to process it. 

Xiao Zhan shyly rubs his nose. Cheerful and confident, he strives towards his crowd of fangirls - safe in the protections of Yibo's bodyguard.

Mino and Jinu's flight home felt much shorter than it did. They'd have been eating if they weren't dozing off or watching dramas, sneakily held hands under the blanket whenever they could.

They were welcomed home firstly by Thor's barks, than Haute zooms round and round as they enter the flat. Hoon and Yoon must be waiting for them at Cat house as well, excited for their return with souvenirs, lots of them.

"My kids!!!" - Jinu shouts as he enters the noisy flat. His sphinx babies Rei and Bei come rubbing at his feet, hasty to re-mark their dad. Mino missed his daughter Jhonny so much he skips off, jokingly ducks away Hoon's smothering hug to find her.

Jinu opens his new suit case, packed with gifts they brought back. Before his members and managers, he presents a little thermo-tumbler.

"What's this?" - Yoon asks, his excited grin never left his face - "Soup? Tea?" 

Jinu listens to the sound when he shakes it up - "Well it used to be Iceland snow, now it's Iceland slushy I guess..."

Among everybody else's hysterical laughter, Hoon's screaming rises above all - "Aisshh Jinu yaaa!!!" - he jumps for Jinu's collars, shaking him up together with the tumbler, only Jinu sounds like he's dying of laughter.

Mino quickly drops his daughter on the table to save his hiong from Hoon. He's out of his mind over Jinu's icy water, and as much as his new bald head makes him look scary, it makes him look even more funny - insanely comical. Jinu's had his fun. They bought a musical snow globe for Hoon and for Yoon 15 meters of seaweed-glittered laminated sticker sheet, which they absolutely adore.

With Mino's help, Jinu's got his lantern up in his room. In it's light and Seoul's by night, it's a heart-stopping view, especially for Mino, whose gaze never left his hiong's beauty - so dazzlingly blinding. Jinu is so used to it by now, he'd let Mino stare, sometimes he stares back suddenly and Mino cracks up.

"Hiong, I'm happy."

"Hm? Is that so? Great, then I'm happy too!"

"I'm happy because you are here with me Jinu ya! Don't ever want to be apart from you!"

"Is that the new song?" - Jinu giggles, he slaps Mino on his back. "Don't worry Mino ya, if I'm not with Mino in person, than I'll be in Mino's dream..." - Jinu's murmur blushes the younger's cheeks.

"Wahh! Jinu, that sounds really good!" - Mino leans closer and quickly their lips met - "Hiong, let's write lyric together... how you chase away my nightmares, how I make you scream in pleasure..."

_"It' been a great vacation, wasn't it?"_

_"For the kids? Yeah. For you? Absolutely! For me? So-so."_

_"SOSO is WINNER's comeback title on the 23rd of this month, not an acceptable answer for my question!"_

_"Then make it up for me~~~ How can you care more for those kids than your own husband!"_

_-End!-_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayye Thanks for taking a peep of this mess! I hope you had fun reading it 'cause I surely had a good time writing it.  
Pssst! If you have interest in my crack-XY-couple let me know `\\(>v<)/`


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